The news is good on the front of the forest fires in northern Quebec since significant precipitation is expected there in the coming days.
Already, in western Abitibi, in Témiscamingue, the rain had started Monday morning. It should then be the turn of the regions further north, where Lebel-sur-Quévillon is located in particular, to receive their share of precipitation.
This news will be enough to rejoice the mayor of the village, Guy Lafrenière, who described the smoky conditions in the municipality, evacuated for a 2e times last week, as “extreme” Monday morning.
The rain should then affect the Ville de Chibougamau sector in the evening and overnight and continue there until Wednesday morning.
“The quantities we expect to receive, at the very least, were more than 40 mm in 36 hours, until Wednesday morning, in places,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin. .
If these amounts of rain materialize, it would be the first precipitation of such importance to affect these regions for more than a month, he said.
The only downside, the James Bay region, to the northwest, should be spared.
Spaniards and Portuguese leave
This respite does not come too soon. The Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) is deprived of one of its most powerful tools, while the smoke is so intense in the most critical sectors that most tankers and helicopters cannot combat the flames due to reduced visibility.
SOPFEU has identified 118 fires on the territory, i.e. 82 in the intensive zone, of which 29 are out of control, and 36 in the northern zone. The most disturbing fire remains that of Lebel-sur-Quévillon which, with its 380,000 hectares, represents an area equivalent to ten times that of the island of Montreal.
The fighting therefore takes place on the ground through the construction of firebreak trenches and preventive burning.
However, the agreement that allowed the arrival of Spanish and Portuguese firefighters as reinforcements expires at the end of the week and Quebec must conclude other agreements with additional external reinforcements.
Good news also awaited the residents evacuated from Opitciwan, who will be able to return to their homes on Tuesday.
With The Canadian Press