(Quebec) Authorities have requested the evacuation of 10,000 people in Sept-Îles due to an out-of-control forest fire. The Canadian Armed Forces are present “just in case”, and the Minister of Public Security is in contact with the Red Cross.
“There are about 10,000 people who are evacuated as a precaution on the Sept-Îles side, there are about 1,000 on the Chapais side,” said Public Security Minister François Bonnardel on Friday. press briefing at the National Assembly.
In Sept-Îles on the North Shore, accommodation centers have been opened. “We necessarily invite the population to go to the family. It’s not easy, it’s a lot of people. We are talking about 2,000 to 3,000 people who need accommodation. We are in contact with the mayor and the Red Cross,” added Mr. Bonnardel.
Call for help
All the staff of the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (SOPFEU) have been repatriated to Quebec, where they are fighting 20 forest fires, out of the 107 in progress: 400 firefighters are hard at work. Quebec has also asked for help from Mexico, the United States and Portugal.
Prime Minister François Legault said he was worried about the situation. “We are making sure that everyone is well housed. [Jeudi], the fires also triggered a system at Hydro-Quebec that left 250,000 homes without electricity. We have reached 5,000 this morning who have no electricity, ”he said.
The government of Quebec asks all Quebecers “not to go into the forest” to avoid causing new fires, and “to agree to follow the instructions” for evacuation.
With Tommy Chouinard
More details to come.