Wildfires out of control and dry weather predicted for the next five days for the west of the province are worrying the Quebec government, which must leave the forest village of Clova to itself, without the help of air tankers. . “It’s unheard of,” said François Legault. He affirms that the firefighters will have “for the summer” to put out all the fires.
” Unfortunately [pour le village de] Clova, we have lost control, we are going to have to let Clova burn,” dropped the Premier of Quebec during a visit to the government operations center.
This village is integrated into the city of La Tuque and is located southwest of the Gouin reservoir, nearly 500 km from Montreal, and has about thirty residents.
SOPFEU, however, qualified the Prime Minister’s remarks. “SOPFEU would like to point out that the latest assessment of the situation in Clova, where the intensity of the fire has exceeded the combat capacity of the tanker planes, has shown that no residence in the village has yet been destroyed by fire. However, some chalets could have been burned,” says Stéphane Caron, communications manager for the organization.
“Even if the combat of tanker planes has been abandoned, SOPFEU is currently trying to protect the village through ground work and helicopter spraying,” he added. “However, the situation is critical and SOPFEU could eventually be forced to withdraw its teams for their safety,” he added.
“If it burns, everything burns”
In Clova, concern is mounting.
Already on Friday, the small population had been evacuated due to the fires which were becoming more and more threatening. But the community hoped firefighters and volunteers could fend off the flames and save homes.
“For the moment, the SOPFEU firefighters are on site and all they are trying to do is save the power line. They are not trying to save the village. They are trying to save the line that supplies the cities,” explains Charlotte Morrissette, operations manager at Air Tamarac, an outfitter in Clova.
The area attracts tourists in the summer for the fishing and for the all-terrain vehicle trails. An inn, a restaurant and a service station are located in the heart of the hamlet.
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION ARCHIVES
The Clova area attracts tourists in the summer for fishing and ATV trails. An inn, a restaurant and a service station are located in the heart of the hamlet.
Mme Morrissette evacuated Clova as soon as the advisory was issued on Friday. But other citizens have decided to stay to monitor their homes or chalets, she says. “People are worried. They are afraid that it will burn, especially since we are surrounded by forest. The trees are close to the houses. So if it burns, everything burns. »
Dominic Vincent has just decided to stay in Clova to participate in firefighting operations. With other citizens, he made homemade tank trucks. These are pick-ups enhanced with tanks containing 3,000 to 5,000 liters of water.
“We water the edges of the roads so that the fire does not cross”, explains the one who owns the three businesses in the municipality.
Mr. Vincent said he was surprised by the statements of Prime Minister François Legault. According to him, the fire is passing east of Clova. A few chalets were destroyed on Sunday, but the fire is moving away from the village. He doesn’t come close, he says.
“Maybe what he meant was if they don’t get firebending today [lundi], they will let it go. But the fire will still pass to the east. It would take high winds for that to change, ”he underlines. Mr. Vincent does not know how many chalets were burned down since the area in question is difficult to access because of the smoke.
Concern for Abitibi
Mr. Legault is worried about all of western Quebec. “What is worrying today is Abitibi. Normétal, Lebel-Sur-Quévillon, it’s another fire that is getting closer to Lebel-sur-Quévillon, ”he said.
“Dry weather is forecast for the next 5 days. The region will be the region to follow more closely,” added Mr. Legault. It is a little less for Sept-Îles and the North Shore, since rain is announced in the coming days.
“We have a long time. Eventually it will be necessary to take care of the wood. This is exceptional. It’s unheard of that there are so many. We can make a connection with climate change,” he said.
He added that the Quebec government only had the resources to cover about 30 forest fires simultaneously. There are almost 150 in progress right now.