The wait and the uncertainty are difficult to live with for the approximately 600 members of the Lac-Simon community who have found refuge at the Center multisports Fournier in Val-d’Or. They have been waiting for their fate since the evacuation of their village in the middle of the night.
“We were all asleep when we started hearing police sirens and people banging on doors around 1am. Had to leave, because the fire was really not far away and was coming quickly towards our house,” says Nancy Pien, a resident of Lac-Simon.
Other members of the Anishnabe First Nation say they had less than 30 minutes to pick up their luggage and jump into a vehicle heading for downtown Val-d’Or.
“We thought it was terrible what was happening in Chapais when they asked to evacuate half of the city, but they had time to take their things before leaving, argues a man sitting on the ground outside. shadow of the arena. The rest of us were woken up in the middle of the night and it was urgent to leave.
Rapid mobilization
Immediately after the evacuation alarm sounded, community members pulled together to make transportation available. Three buses were used to transport a good part of the population to the urban center.
“We filled buses in time to say for those who do not have a personal vehicle or who did not want to use it. I couldn’t even see my neighbours’ house,” explains Marie-Louise Pien, Nancy’s sister.
Worried to death
Even if they are treated with small onions during their involuntary stay at the sports center, the Anishnabe lady and her friends are eager to return to their community and see the state in which it finds itself. A completely different concern gnaws at Ms Pien as her daughter and grandson have not given any news since Friday evening.
“They went into the woods with others during the week more towards Senneterre, she confides with a tremolo in her voice. I was told the road to get there had been closed so I’m afraid they got stuck because they can’t be found.”
The state of emergency in Senneterre
The City of Senneterre declared a state of emergency at a press conference on Sunday. Although no evacuation is planned for the moment, the municipal administration wants to protect itself with all the tools at its disposal.
“It’s just to be better prepared. That doesn’t mean we go beyond [des mesures en place]. […] Everything is under control, we are monitoring the situation very closely with the public security authorities and with SOPFEU”, explains the mayor of Senneterre, Nathalie-Ann Pelchat, in connection with the fires which persist over more than 12,000 hectares in the south. -east of town.