Residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon are holding their breath while waiting to return to their homes: the Nordic Kraft pulp mill is still under threat from the fire that has been raging since Friday. The burning of the premises would be a disaster with implications that go far beyond the region.
“On Friday, the fire passed just a few hundred meters from critical infrastructure. There are no words to describe how very close we came to a really major situation. […] Not only do we cross our fingers, but we also cross everything that it is possible to cross on the human body so that it does not happen, ”argues the executive director of corporate development at Chantiers Chibougamau, Frédéric Verreault.
Photo courtesy of Chantiers Chibougamau
The fire progressed at breakneck speed during the day on Friday. Around 5 p.m., it was visible from the parking lot.
Much more than the buildings, it is the chemical tanks of the industrial complex bought by his company in 2017 that particularly worry him.
“It’s like someone who has a chlorine boiler for his swimming pool in the shed, if there is too much heat it can become extremely dangerous, image Mr. Verreault. For us, these are not boilers, but full tanks of chlorate that we have on the site.”
These tanks cannot be emptied for the purpose of bringing their contents to safety, since the road to leave the factory is closed to traffic and itself presents significant dangers.
Disaster
The Nordic Kraft pulp mill reopened in 2020 after a major upgrade of equipment dating from the 1960s at a cost of approximately $400 million. 300 employees, 50% of whom live in Lebel-sur-Quévillon, work there on a daily basis.
Photo courtesy of Chantiers Chibougamau
Each year, the factory that manufactures the components needed to create toilet paper meets the basic needs of more than 10 million people.
Several Quévillonais met by The newspaper in Senneterre and Val-d’Or are extremely concerned about the closeness observed when they leave between the plant and the flames.
Many of them “prefer not to think” about the impacts that the destruction of the factory could have on the village. Some others believe that there would “simply be no more” municipality.
Be on the look-out
Although the situation has improved somewhat since the outbreak of the fire, the executive director of corporate development at Chantiers Chibougamau maintains that “nobody intends to lower their guard”.
Photo courtesy of Chantiers Chibougamau
As smoke emanated in large quantities from the blaze raging east of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, the sky had yellowish tints on Saturday evening.
“We are at a completely different stage in the intervention. The fire is emitting a lot of smoke because it burned down very quickly before slowing down on Saturday and Sunday. The risk with that is that it’s only the outside of the trees that burned and it wouldn’t take much for it to start up again. The risk is still present and we remain on alert.”