A fire in a used tire facility sent a massive cloud of black of smoke wafting over a town in Quebec’s Beauce region Saturday night.
The fire broke out in the recycling yard of Royal Mat at around 10:30 p.m. in Beauceville, about 90 kilometres south of Quebec City.
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Some 3,000 cubic metres of tires were consumed by the fire, which continued to burn Sunday morning before being brought under control at around 10 a.m.
The cause of the fire is unknown but authorities are not ruling out arson.
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The province’s emergency environment response team was sent to the site, as well as a Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) — a mobile lab that measures atmospheric gas.
No evacuations were ordered but residents were asked to shut off their ventilation systems.
At 1:30 p.m., the city posted an update on its Facebook page reassuring citizens.
“The fire is under control and should go out by itself,” the statement reads.
Officials said the fire department and city crews will monitor the site continuously to ensure it doesn’t flare up.
The city also told citizens it had received results of air quality tests.
“It is important to mention that TAGA’s air quality analyses do not currently show any problems for the health of citizens.”
However, Urgence Quebec is urging citizens to keep their ventilation systems off until further notice.
The agency reiterated that toxicological analyses did not show the presence of harmful particles except in the area within the plume of smoke.
In a tweet, Urgence Quebec explained the level of contaminants was similar to what one would experience during a smog event in a big city.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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