Mega forest fires | “No one is safe in Quebec anymore”

Like ogres, the fires threatened to engulf everything in their path. Huge propane and gasoline tanks. The airport. Telecommunications towers. The prison. Without forgetting the factory which supplied the firefighters with water.

“At 10:15 p.m., I learned that we had to evacuate the entire city! We were in shock! A fire had advanced 20 km and was generating its own winds. In the morning I needed my windshield wipers because it was snowing ash! The Sûreté du Québec sent more than 100 police officers; 350 soldiers were coming…”¹

Three months after experiencing these adventures worthy of an action film – the 1^er, June 2 and 3 – the fire safety director of Sept-Îles, Joël Sauvé, thanks nature. Because his city is today intact, unlike the island of Maui – where 115 people and 2,200 buildings were incinerated in a few hours.

“Even if we escaped the worst, it’s a wake-up call for all of Quebec – Saint-Jérôme, Mont-Laurier, whatever! warns Mr. Sauvé. No one is safe anymore. We need to protect ourselves better. »

If the winds had not changed direction in Sept-Îles, if the rain had not finally flooded the thirsty landscape, 30,000 individuals would have had to flee rather than 4,000. And areas could have been reduced to ashes.

“A surprising intensity”

Recent history justifies Mr. Sauvé’s concern – which is also shared by all the experts interviewed by The Press – since several mega-fires have devastated unlikely places.

In Nova Scotia, at the end of May, 16,500 people fled the suburbs of Halifax in disaster and 200 buildings burned, because an abnormally hot and dry spring had transformed the vegetation into dangerous fuel.

Au Tennessee, 2000 édifices ont été rasés et 200 victimes, blessées ou tuées, à l’automne 2016, quand le feu s’est échappé du parc national des Great Smoky Mountains – d’ordinaire brumeux et pluvieux. Les flammes se sont jetées sur les villes voisines dix fois plus vite qu’escompté. Certains survivants ont dû rouler entre deux rivières de feu, sous une pluie d’étincelles propulsées par des vents de 140 km/h.

« Des catastrophes pourraient clairement se produire à des endroits inattendus au Québec aussi », affirme Jonathan Boucher, qui a survolé des brasiers et travaille à prédire les pertes pour le Service canadien des forêts, rattaché au ministère des Ressources naturelles.

« Avec l’été qu’on vient de vivre, plusieurs communautés se demandent déjà quels risques elles courent », ajoute le chercheur, que la communauté urbaine de Québec a contacté à ce sujet.

Sur la Côte-Nord, Fermont a commencé à réaménager son territoire sur recommandation de la SOPFEU. « Le défi du Québec, dans les prochaines années, c’est de faire ça à grande échelle. Il faut que toutes les communautés [près des forêts] analyze their vulnerability and take measures to reduce it,” says Stéphane Caron, prevention coordinator at SOPFEU.

According to a study by the Canadian Forest Service, the population exposed to forest fires will increase “considerably” by 2040 and “tragic situations could become more frequent in Canada”. Although the fires are becoming more threatening, the growing population is encroaching more and more on the forest, in search of space and quality of life, explains in an interview the main author of the study, Sandy Erni, specialized in risks.

However, the “forest-built zone interfaces” are the most exposed to danger. Each in their own way.

With its conifers, the boreal forest of the North burns much more easily and violently than the deciduous and mixed forests of the South, protected by their humid species.

“If the fire started in the Laurentides wildlife reserve, it would quickly be at the gates of Charlesbourg [arrondissement de Québec]. And the new houses that are eating away at the forests at Mont Saint-Hilaire [Montérégie] would also be within range of a fire,” says forestry engineer Évelyne Thiffault.

These regions have not burned for a very long time, she adds. “But when the forest is close to occupied areas, emergency, warning and evacuation plans may need to be planned. »

Southern Quebec burns little, but is very populated, adds Yan Boulanger, ecology researcher at the Canadian Forest Service. “Human activity therefore triggers numerous small fires there, which could degenerate and cause very, very significant damage. It is essential that vegetation is mapped to know what damage a single ignition would cause in very dry conditions. »

Further north – where fires are frequent and gigantic – certain areas remain deserted. But others are home to indigenous communities or are dotted with industry, dams, power lines, and more.

“The fire does not need to be at our doors for it to have consequences on us,” recalls Professor Évelyne Thiffault. This summer’s breakdowns and the plume of smoke observed hundreds of kilometers away demonstrated this. »

Caught short

Northern Quebec may be used to flames, but the fire safety director, Jean-Guy Perreault, will never forget June 6 and 7, 2023, when 7,500 Indigenous people and residents of Chibougamau had to urgently abandon their homes.

“The rapid evolution of the fire took us by surprise! Gas stations ran out of gas and there was traffic on the road. People took up to eight hours to get to Lac-Saint-Jean instead of three. »

“Having an entire municipality evacuated was a first. We did well, but we learned. »

In Sept-Îles, small sectors, the hospital, the prison and the Mani-utenam Innu reserve had to be emptied. But the fire never reached the threshold that would have forced Joël Sauvé to order a complete evacuation.

As long as uncertainty reigned, municipal employees still displayed treasures of imagination and organization. Going so far as to consider the arrival of a cruise ship from the Magdalen Islands to allow departures by river.

In his eyes, “making decisions on housing development near forests is essential”.

In the meantime, the firefighters are exhausted. When a fire broke out outside Val-d’Or, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Éric Hébert alerted SOPFEU. But with 150 active fires, it lacked equipment and manpower. “For the first time, in 28 years of service, I was told: get it together! We are overwhelmed; we can’t do anything…”, reports the fire safety director.

The situation has been dramatic in recent months, summarizes researcher Sandy Erni. “Despite everything, no primary residence was lost. Everyone achieved truly extraordinary things! But I wonder: does this ultimately give us a false sense of security? »

1. His story has been summarized for the sake of brevity.

– With the collaboration of Vincent Larin, The Press