Follow François Legault’s press briefing live on the more than 150 forest fires raging in Quebec:
The people of Nord-du-Québec are resilient, says Ungava MNA Denis Lamothe, who represents the municipality of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, where residents are under an evacuation order due to wildfires. forest raging in the area.
Mr. Lamothe noted that the scale of the raging fires is unprecedented.
“It’s the forest at home, he said in an interview. This is not the first fire in the area. It’s certainly not the last either except that, of this magnitude, it’s serious. »
The deputy welcomed the reaction of the population who complied with the evacuation orders in Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Chapais.
“People are resilient here, in Quévillon they evacuated it didn’t drag out, in four hours, Chapais the same thing”, he said.
Mr. Lamothe expressed confidence that favorable winds will protect the municipality where the main factory, Nordic Kraft, was threatened by the flames.
“The winds are favorable for the fire to move away,” he said.
The population of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, made up of approximately 2,000 people, withdrew to Senneterre and Val-d’Or in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
On the side of Chapais, another municipality in his riding, the population was able to return to the premises after an evacuation order. The Cree community of Matagami has been overcome by smoke and a fire is located 17 km from Mistissini, another Cree community.
“For Chapais it’s more stable, the command post was closed on Sunday,” he said.
Lamothe was not able, Monday, to say if the worst is over for Jamésie.
“It’s hard to say if the worst is over because it’s all about the winds,” he explained.
The mayor of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, in a press briefing broadcast on social networks, indicated on Monday that the north winds are keeping a fire away, but could however favor the spread towards the municipality of another fire, currently at 20 km.
The MP for Val-d’Or, Pierre Dufour, said that between 4,000 and 5,000 people were evacuated in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Nord-du-Québec.
Prime Minister François Legault will take stock of the situation at the start of the afternoon. He will be accompanied by the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, and the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette Vézina.
More details will follow.