The City of Val-d’Or announced on Saturday evening the emergency evacuation of several sectors due to two out-of-control forest fires and poor air quality. A state of emergency has been declared and evacuations are mandatory.
The sectors concerned are those of Louvicourt, Lake Wyeth, Lake Gueguen, Lake Matchi-Manitou and Lake Villebon.
People in these areas had to evacuate the premises at 7 p.m., for an indefinite period.
The Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) indicates that no forest fire is currently threatening the urban territory of the city of Val-d’Or. However, public health recommends staying at home with the windows closed due to poor air quality.
On the side of Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Sept-Îles, where there were evacuations, the fires did not progress. The citizens of Chapais were able to return to their homes on Saturday afternoon. Some 200 soldiers arrive on the North Shore at the end of the week as reinforcements.
In Sept-Îles, a continuous shuttle service is set up on Sunday between the city center and the airport. Departures are from the Center socio-récréatif, on avenue Jolliet, every half hour until 10:30 p.m. Departures from the airport are announced every hour until 11 p.m. .
Press conferences by the mayors of the cities of Sept-Îles and Lebel-sur-Quévillon will be broadcast on the official Facebook pages of their municipalities on Sunday morning, at 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. respectively.
The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel and the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, will provide an update on the state of the situation on the forest fires in Quebec at a press briefing on Sunday, around 10:00 a.m. .
SOPFEU reported 140 active forest fires Sunday morning in Quebec.
SÉPAQ sites closed
The Société des establishments de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ) is adding 11 new establishments to the list of those that are now subject to a total or partial ban on access due to the risk of forest fires, starting at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.
Among the SÉPAQ sites that are completely off-limits are those of Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay and Parc national des Monts-Valin, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, and the Réserve faunique du Saint-Maurice, in Mauricie and the Port-Cartier-Sept-Îles Wildlife Reserve, on the North Shore.
The other SÉPAQ sites completely closed to access due to the forest fires are at the Aiguebelle and Opémican national parks, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, in the La Vérendrye wildlife reserve, in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions. and Outaouais, in Parc national de la Pointe-Taillon and at the tourist center of Lac-Kénogami, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, as well as in the Réserve faunique Rouge-Matawin located in the Laurentians and Lanaudiere.