Forest fires | The fire 500 meters from Normétal

The flank of the forest fire that threatens Normetal, in Abitibi-Ouest, is now less than 500 meters from the municipality, where the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) was concentrating the efforts of its tanker planes. late Wednesday afternoon. In Chapais, citizens in precarious health are asked to evacuate, but the others can stay there for the moment.

At a time when the fires are approaching several communities in Abitibi-Ouest, including Saint-Lambert, “we cannot be everywhere at the same time”, however warns the spokesperson for SOPFEU, Stéphane Caron. “At the moment, it is very very very worrying for these villages. »

“Every effort is being made to try to save the municipality [de Normétal], but we cannot guarantee the result on this side, we have to be realistic”, specifies Stéphane Caron. The fight continues despite everything on the ground and in the air, therefore in the hope of keeping the flames at bay.

In Lebel-sur-Quévillon, another sector considered a “hot spot” by SOPFEU, two fires are currently being monitored.

One is pushed in the opposite direction of the city while the other “is found to be a little more threatening, but has not progressed”, indicates Stéphane Caron. Mechanized trenches and sprinklers were placed around the Nordic Kraft factory where there are chemical compounds whose potential combustion worried the authorities.

Finally, at the “Chibougamau-Oujé-Bougoumou-Chapais-Mistissini” complex, the fire “did not progress dramatically today, which is good news in itself,” said the SOPFEU spokesperson. .

This relative respite allowed the authorities to concentrate protection efforts there, i.e. to cut “firebreaks” and “stop lines” in the forest where the fire could be slowed down. .

Mistissini refuses to evacuate

Earlier today, the Cree community of Mistissini announced there that it would not evacuate its fellow citizens and that they are “safe”. To François Legault, who had asked for an evacuation earlier Wednesday, Chief Michael Petawabano retorts that the Premier of Quebec “does not lead our community”.

“I understand that Legault has spoken. […] But Legault doesn’t lead our community, the community is led by the leadership here, we make the decisions. If there is a danger, we will inform you, ”hammered Mr. Petawabano during a speech held on the radio and on social networks, in the afternoon.

A few hours before, François Legault had however hinted that the residents of the community will have to leave. “We are asking to evacuate Mistissini today. There is a risk. We will take the time to do it right. […] We continue to have a risk of fire spreading in Abitibi. We continue to keep Normetal evacuated. There is also Senneterre where we are starting to do evacuations, ”he said.

Asked whether he had discussed with the Cree authorities, Mr. Legault had however been cautious. “We are discussing the various alternatives with the chief of the Crees over there. We should be able to announce that in the next few hours, because we want to make sure that the plan also works for the Cree community,” he said.

But Chief Petawabano assures him that the evacuation will not be done in the short term. “There is no danger. We are safe. We are not evacuating at this time. We ask you to remain calm,” he said.

“We continue to monitor the situation, working very closely with SOPFEU, which is here every day, assessing the situation and using all the tools available,” added Mr. Petawabano. His administration will nevertheless begin to examine options for moving “vulnerable people”, such as pregnant women or residents with respiratory problems, in particular. Schools will also be closed for the week, as a preventive measure.

For the rest, the chief of Mistissini asks to wait for “the reports of the community”. “I know it is sometimes difficult. Panic may set in, but we would really appreciate your waiting for our reports. If anything changes, we will let you know,” he promised.

Some 4,000 people live in the community of Mistissini. Including the 11,000 people already evacuated, an evacuation of this sector would therefore increase the toll to 15,000, or even 16,000 people. No rain is forecast for northern and western Quebec until Monday evening. Evacuees will likely have to wait at least another six days before returning to their homes.

For François Legault, this is a second communication misstep in a few days. On Monday, he said that the authorities would be “forced to let Clova burn”, given the intensity of the blaze. However, SOPFEU soon after qualified its remarks, stating “that no residence in the village has yet been destroyed by fire”, but that “some chalets could however have been burned”.

“Everything is ready” in Chapais

About 130 kilometers from Mistissini, the mayor of Chapais, Isabelle Lessard, indicated Wednesday that “everything is ready” to evacuate, without however giving the formal order.

In the evening, however, citizens in precarious health were prevented from leaving since the resources for treatment in Chibougamau are no longer there.

They can be accommodated at the Cégep where a nurse and a social worker await them. Animals are allowed, indicated Isabelle Lessard. The mayor then explained the municipality’s decision not to order an evacuation at this time.

“The fire near Mistissini, it has not progressed significantly. That’s one of the reasons we can stay here tonight,” she said. “Chibougamau is a large municipality, that’s why they chose to evacuate their people, so that it doesn’t happen in panic. They chose to do it and that’s fine, that’s understandable. »

A partial evacuation of Chapais had already taken place last week, when 400 residents had been ordered to leave the city.

However, the regional government of Eeyou Istchee Baie-James has declared a state of emergency for the sectors of Lac Cavan, Lac Opémisca, Lac Dulieux, Lac Buckell, Presqu’île, Baie Demers and Queylus Bay. Citizens who live in the resorts identified above therefore have the obligation to evacuate, indicated the body headed by the mayor of Chibougamau, Manon Cyr.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Legault also argued that it remains very important that the evacuees from Lebel-sur-Quévillon do not return home for the moment. “I want to make a clarification: there is the Nordic Kraft factory, where there is a lot of fuel oil. It is very important that people do not return to Lebel-sur-Quévillon,” he said.

To operate, the industrial complex needs chemicals such as chlorate, and requires significant amounts of fuel oil and natural gas. “We were very, very hot on Friday evening,” said Frédéric Verreault, director of corporate development for Les Chantiers de Chibougamau, owner of the plant. Since Tuesday, a “commando” made up of SOPFEU employees and the company’s forestry team has been expanding the secure area around the site to avoid an environmental disaster with the combustion of these hazardous materials.

Mobilized teams, assures Dubé

Everywhere, health teams are mobilized to evacuate patients and residents of CHSLDs who will have to be, also assured Wednesday the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé. The day before, the staff was hard at work part of the night to transfer users from Chibougamau to Roberval and Montreal.

“Last night until midnight, there were still people who had chartered a plane to leave Chibougamau. We are not just talking about hospitals, but about CHSLDs too, it is not always patients who are easy to move around, ”explained Mr. Dubé who thanked the employees of the network.

For now, air resources are sufficient. “We are going to look for Pilatus devices in the private sector, we work a lot with Airmédic which has the planes to do that so yes, for the moment it is going very well”, argued Mr. Dubé.

With Fanny Lévesque, The Press