Hunting camps burned in Abitibi | “The fire came to get me the most beautiful”

For dozens of Abitibi residents, the destruction by fire of their hunting camp, nestled in the heart of the woods, represents a heavy financial and symbolic loss.

(Senneterre) “It was my little joy,” breathes Serges Liboiron, standing in the middle of the ruins of the hunting camp that he lovingly maintained for almost 40 years. For the sixty-year-old, the forest fires of 2023 sound the death knell for a way of life. He is not the only one.

The fiberglass boat melted. Of the pedal boat, only the pedal remains. The twisted metal carcasses show a fridge here, a wood stove there. The heat even caused the stones on the ground to crack.

Everything has disappeared: the family photos hanging on the walls. The triumphant plumes of hunting parties. The raised garden where he grew potatoes. The mixer for making bread.

Serges Liboiron, 67, wavers in the middle of the ruins. “The fire came to take from me the most beautiful thing I had, apart from the love of my wife,” he says.

Through the charred trees and the strong smell of ashes, we can guess the little corner of paradise that the place was. A point of forest on the edge of a lake, 44 kilometers from Senneterre, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. For the retiree, it was “peace, tranquility”.

Nirvana, until June 24, when one of the immense fires that threatened the region devastated it. A few weeks earlier, Mr. Liboiron had left his camp without having time to take anything with him. And – powerless – without being able to return: the forest was forbidden to access.

Dozens of hunting camps burned

The municipalities of Senneterre and Lebel-sur-Quévillon were spared from the flames this summer, in particular thanks to the tireless efforts of forest firefighters. But in the surrounding expanses of boreal forest, dozens of hunting camps and cabins located on public land have come under fire.

For the victims, an entire way of life has gone up in smoke.

In the Senneterre region alone, where several fires raged for weeks, 1,574 basic shelter leases (hunting camps) are listed by the MRC of La Vallée-de-l’Or – for a local population of 2,700 souls. .

At the end of August, the MRC received information that 97 hunting camps and 17 chalets had burned. This data is incomplete, because owners are not required to report these fires, specifies MRC communications agent Sophie Rouillard.

Basic shelter or vacation rental leases

In Quebec, basic shelter or vacation rental leases are issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MRNF). They allow citizens to settle on public land, while having to respect limits (distance from bodies of water, dimensions of buildings, etc.). The land is generally around 4000 m^⁠2 and in coveted areas, in the forest or along lakes or rivers.

In total, 913 of the lands leased by the MRNF are located in areas affected by the fires, including 411 summary shelter leases only in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, according to the Ministry.

However, the MRNF does not have information on those who burned and does not provide any compensation for the victims, indicated its press relations department.

A lifetime’s work

In Lebel-sur-Quévillon, a hundred kilometers further north of Senneterre, the losses were also heavy. “It’s a lesson for all the efforts of a lifetime,” says Kathleen Bourassa, troubled.

For five years, M^me Bourassa and his partner spent all their free time building themselves a quaint little camp on the outskirts of the city. They aimed for a certain character and chose materials carefully.

“At Easter, we were at the ceiling, finishing the cathedral roof. We had done everything. It was time to stop working and finally enjoy it,” laments M^me Bourassa.

Years of work reduced to nothing, she adds in front of the charred remains of her dream. Here too, the intensity of the blaze left only twisted sheet metal and melted glass, facing a lake. “Even the roots of the trees burned, the fire ate the ground,” she observes.

“It’s not easy,” murmurs the fifty-year-old, her throat tight.

Worse still: the place was not yet secured. The family estimates having lost nearly $80,000, which includes materials, tools, the four-wheeler and the boat.

Not to mention the desire for a warm retirement, surrounded by a community of camp “neighbors” who share the same way of life: snowmobiling in winter, four-wheeling in summer, hunting and fishing . Love of wood.

“We lose a lot of money, we go backwards in life,” she believes. We are thinking hard about what we are going to do. »

To clean

Now that the fires are out, it is time for assessments, mourning, decisions… and cleaning. Indeed, regardless of whether or not they keep their leases, affected citizens have the obligation to empty the premises.

At Pointe-Nor, a trucking and recovery company in Senneterre, charred goods brought by unlucky people are piling up. Dozens of charred propane tanks. Unusable wood stoves. A split rowboat. “A few days ago, we had two very full trailers,” emphasizes owner Normand Lapointe as he passes by The Press.

A few kilometers away, at the Resto Center-ville de Senneterre – the only establishment in the town – discussions about burned hunting camps occupy the conversations. Owner Lynn Leclerc also lost her camp in the flames. “Everything burned, everything, everything, everything!” “, she laments. With his partner, they decided to take over the lease from Serges Liboiron, whose land is located closer than their former camp.

They will help the retiree with cleaning. As for settling in the middle of the burned forest, they don’t really know how this will be done.

Mr. Liboiron has no intention of rebuilding his life. “Memories are priceless. Neither do my beautiful plumes, he sighs. And the fire, with climate change, will return. »