Three provinces are lending a helping hand to Quebec’s wildfire prevention and suppression agency in its efforts to combat fires.

SOPFEU will receive help from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia to support its firefighting operations against the numerous wildfires raging in the northern part of the province.

Sixty-three wildland firefighters from British Columbia will arrive in Quebec on July 3, another 21 from New Brunswick will arrive on July 4, along with 17 others from Prince Edward Island.

These reinforcements will support the 640 Quebec wildland firefighters and auxiliary firefighters already deployed in the field.

As of Friday at 2 p.m., there were 186 active wildfires in northern Quebec and 14 in the protection zone.

In a statement released Friday, SOPFEU said many of these fires are burning deep underground, which makes them longer to extinguish.

“The arrival of these firefighters will enable SOPFEU to handle this significant increase in workload,” SOPFEU wrote.