The approximately 2,000 citizens evacuated from Lebel-sur-Quévillon, in the Nord-du-Québec region, are on the alert this Friday, while Mayor Guy Lafrenière has left the possibility of a gradual return floating on Thursday evening.
Passing through Val-d’Or early Friday, the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, however explained that the situation had changed overnight in this sector, and not for the better: “There is significant flammability indices, in the Lebel-sur-Quévillon sector in particular today, which were not as significant when I had my briefing last night. So, overnight, the situation changed. It’s evolving rapidly. »
However, the municipality – and especially the Nordic Kraft factory where large quantities of hydrocarbons and chemical products are stored – have been protected by fire trenches and many American forest firefighters have just been dispatched there as reinforcements.
Minister Blanchette Vézina was to go to Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Mayor Lafrenière must take stock at the end of the morning on the situation in the municipality, which remains surrounded by uncontrolled fires and which is only accessible by one road.
Across the province, 104 fires are still raging in what has been designated as the intensive zone, 22 of which are out of control. To these are added 20 other fires in the northern zone.
The huge blaze northwest of Chibougamau remains SOPFEU’s other major concern, but poses no threat of imminent evacuation for the citizens, who have only just returned to their homes after being evacuated themselves. The same goes for the neighboring communities of Chapais and Oujé-Bougoumou.
SOPFEU can, however, breathe easy in the other sectors affected by the unprecedented wave of forest fires, explained Ms. Blanchette Vézina: “There are regions, in particular in the center, which received several millimeters of water which allow SOPFEU to say that, for the moment, the situation is under control. »
Smog envelops southern and western Quebec
Meanwhile, southern and western Quebec are under smog due to these forest fires. The air quality was particularly deteriorated in the metropolitan area, in the Laurentians and in Gatineau early Friday morning, according to the air quality index of the Quebec Ministry of the Environment.
Environment Canada points out that children with asthma and people with respiratory or heart disease are the most affected by smog. They are therefore recommended to avoid strenuous physical activity outdoors until the warning is lifted, the agency says.
In total, more than 1.3 million hectares of forest have been affected by the fires this year in Quebec. This is 400 times more than the annual average of the last 10 years.
On Thursday, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault dropped that “the worst may not be behind us, but may be ahead of us,” during a press briefing.
The Minister relied on the predictions of scientists from Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada, according to which “we will probably have a very dry and very hot summer and, therefore, very favorable conditions for other forest fires.
However, Canada is already at its worst, with fires that have ravaged 5.7 million hectares of forest – the equivalent of three times the area of Lake Ontario, illustrated the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair – this which is already, in mid-June, more than double the average annual area of 2.7 million hectares of the last decade.
A total of 447 fires are active Friday morning in Canada, including 81 in Alberta, 70 in British Columbia and 57 in Ontario, according to the Canadian Interagency Wildfire Center.