Water bombers called in to fight forest fire burning in Kamouraska

Two water bombers have been called in to help extinguish aforest fire that ignited Fridayin the Kamouraska region.

Firefighters have so far been unable to access the fire by ground as it burns between the towns of Rivire-Ouelle and Saint-Denis-de-la-Bouteillerie, about 100 kilometres northeast ofQuebec City.

Authorities were first alerted to the fire at around 2:20 p.m. Friday.

"The fire started in a bog, the Lambert bog, and then spread to the surrounding woodlands," said fire chief Christian Gagnon.

He said there are no people at risk at this time, but firefighters are ready to evacuate the area if needed.

"No building is directly threatened for the moment, but there are animals in abarnnot far from the fire.Fire trucks are on hand to stop it from spreading," said Gagnon.

Firefighters estimate the fire covers 40 hectares, roughly the size of 40 international rugby fields. The smoke is visible fromseveral kilometres' away, and strong winds are contributing to the fire's rapid spread.

The fire danger is forecasted by extreme in most of Quebec, according to SOPFEU, Quebec's forest fire prevention agency.

Open fires are currently banned in much of the province. In late May, there were some 240 forest fires burning across Quebec. That's more than double the usual average. SOPFEU said it was due to a dry spring.