Power was restored in Abitibi-Témiscamingue early Friday evening, after some 75,000 homes were without power for about two and a half hours. Forest fires force new evacuations in Senneterre and near Normetal.
Smoke from forest fires caused a major power outage in Abitibi-Témiscamingue on Friday. In this sector, more than 75,000 people are without power at the end of the afternoon – out of a total of 83,500 customers for the region. Electricity was restored at 7:30 p.m.
The smoke that emerges from the dozens of forest fires raging in Quebec is responsible for triggering a mechanism to protect Hydro-Quebec equipment, explains Philippe Archambault, head of media relations for the company. ‘State.
This type of breakdown generally affects a large number of households, he underlines. Hydro-Québec’s equipment was not damaged and the teams worked to restore power remotely.
As of 7:30 p.m. Friday, electricity was back to some 75,000 homes that had been without it for about 5 p.m.
Customers in the Abitibi, Abitibi-Ouest, Vallée-de-l’Or and Rouyn-Noranda sectors were the most affected by the outage. In Témiscamingue, in the southwest of the region, some 2,500 homes were also affected.
New evacuations in Abitibi
The forest fires also caused the evacuation of certain sectors of Senneterre, an Abitibi town located south of Lebel-sur-Quévillon on Friday. Residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, for their part, had to leave their homes for the second time in a month on Thursday.
Residents of Val-Paradis, Beaucanton and Lac Pajegasque, near Normétal, in Nord-du-Québec, also received an evacuation notice from the Ministry of Public Security at the end of the day Friday. This is the second time that these residents have had to break homes due to forest fires in a month.
They will be welcomed in the city of Sarre, in Abitibi-Ouest.