Que. man pleads guilty to starting 14 fires amid historic wildfire season

A Quebec man has pleaded guilty Monday to 13 counts of arson and one count of arson with disregard for human life.

Brian Paré, 38, appeared at the courthouse in Chibougamau, Que.

He is responsible for setting 14 fires about 425 km northwest of Quebec City, the Canadian Press (CP) reports.

One of Paré's fires forced the evacuation of around 500 homes in Chapais, equating to roughly half the community.

Prosecutor Marie-Philippe Charron told the court evacuees could not return home until June 3.

"On May 31 at 8:30 p.m., the town of Chapais issued a mandatory evacuation order due to the raging fires, in particular the fire at Lake Cavan as well as the airport fire, two fires that are included in the charges and were caused by the accused," Charron said, reading the agreed statement of facts.

The Lake Cavan fire was the largest of Paré's fires, destroying 873 hectares of woodlands. It started three days after the government banned open fires near forests due to dry conditions.

Fires seemed suspicious

Charron told the court first responders found evidence Paré's fires were intentional. He was seen in the area where one of the fires started.

When he first spoke to police June 2, he was considered a witness. He denied starting the fires but raised suspicions because he "demonstrated some interest in the fires," Charron said.

Police searched Paré's public Facebook page and found regular posts about the Quebec forest fires. He also made claims the government deliberately set fires to convince the public to believe in climate change.

Paré was arrested Sept 7 following an investigation. During questioning, he admitted to starting 9 of the 14 fires.

Paré has been detained since his arrest. A pre-sentence report will be presented before April 22.

It will assess Paré's mental state and the risk he poses to the public.

Historic wildfire season

2023 was a historicwildfire season in Quebec, with 4.5 million hectares of forest burned, including 1.1 million hectares in inhabited areas.

At a press conference in November 2023, Éric Rousseau, general manager of the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, said the area burned in 2023 is higher than the sum of the last 20 years.

Billowing smoke blows away from the Quebec wildfires, as seen on GOES-East visible satellite imagery on June 3, 2023. (NOAA)