There will be no fireworks anywhere north of the St. Lawrence for the national holiday, as the government abandoned the idea of giving relaxations to certain cities less at risk of being affected by the fires of forest.
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The ban on open fires, which includes fireworks, will remain in effect everywhere on the north shore of the river, confirmed Thursday the office of the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina.
On Tuesday, Ms. Blanchette Vézina had called on the municipalities to “use extreme caution” in the organization of the festivities of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, to prevent the celebrations from contributing to aggravating the situation of forest fires.
However, she had opened the door to flexibility in certain sectors, pointing out that SOPFEU was working on specific instructions for municipalities located closer to the river, such as Quebec City, where the risk of fire is lower.
But the situation has not improved enough, and the government is now ruling out the possibility of making exceptions to the rule.
On most of the territory of Quebec, it will therefore be a national holiday without fireworks. SOPFEU reminds you that it is also not allowed to make campfires, light flying lanterns or use instruments that produce sparks in places where the ban is in effect.
It is nevertheless possible to light fires in fireplaces equipped with a spark arrester, and placed on a dirt or gravel floor.
In addition, the forest fire situation is still critical in several places in Quebec, due to the hot and dry weather which is fueling active fires and which risks sparking new blazes.
Since the beginning of the week, four fires that were contained have returned out of control, explained at a press conference the deputy minister at the Ministry of Public Security, Katia Petit.
And if no community is directly threatened by the flames at the moment, SOPFEU warns that the situation can change very quickly, and it urges citizens to respect the ban on open fires.
“SOPFEU cannot afford to divert its attention from active fires, additional human-caused fires must not be added,” advised SOPFEU’s deputy director general, Julie Coupal.
For now, between 1,300 and 1,500 people are fighting the fires on the ground. But the reinforcement contingents from Spain and Portugal must leave Quebec in the coming days, which is causing a headache for SOPFEU.
“We are trying to find solutions to keep the current level,” said Ms. Coupal.
To do this, Quebec must make requests to the federal government. But with fires raging elsewhere in the country, it is uncertain whether these resources will be replaced immediately.
“There are several requests in other provinces that are not being answered. We are waiting for answers that we hope will be positive,” said Ms. Coupal.
Listen to Alexandre Dubé’s interview with Stéphane Caron, Prevention and Communications Coordinator at SOPFEU via QUB-radio:
And while most of the citizens of Lebel-sur-Quévillon have once again packed up after being asked by the municipality to evacuate, the government does not rule out that other evacuations may prove necessary.
“Virtually all the communities on the targeted territories could be called upon to evacuate,” said Ms. Coupal.
A pre-alert notice was also sent to the people of Val-Paradis in Nord-du-Québec.