The flames have engulfed more than 5,500 km so far2 of Quebec forest, only in June and in the “intensive zone”, according to SOPFEU figures. The hot and dry weather expected in the coming days will further fuel these already historic infernos. Several municipalities remain on the alert.
In comparison, the area burned on the same date during the last 10 years amounts to 77 km2 on average.
Sunshine and temperatures around 30°C are expected until Sunday in northern Quebec. Several of the 85 active fires should therefore regain strength.
“We are talking about forty fires that were contained and that can go out of control,” said Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette Vézina on Wednesday morning. She also warned that “the flammability index will go from very high to extreme for several sectors of Quebec”.
More than 14,000 people are currently fighting the fires, supported by twenty tankers and 79 helicopters.
More than 1000 people are evacuated or will be shortly. Communities in Haute-Mauricie, Nord-du-Québec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Lac-Saint-Jean must also remain on high alert.
Fire threatens Lebel-sur-Quévillon
On Sunday, 1,400 of the approximately 2,000 residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon had returned home after two weeks of evacuation. On Wednesday, a new threat was already hovering over their heads.
The flames are dangerously approaching the main road that gives access to the municipality. The mayor, Guy Lafrenière, therefore recommended that those who can find accommodation outside the city go there immediately.
Leaving the city is a recommendation and not an order, but “you must be ready to evacuate at any time,” he said in the morning. After this announcement, nearly 600 people decided to pack up.
“We are in the north of northern Quebec. The most peaceful corner of the world. Looks like we’re in Syria or Afghanistan. We are refugees, ”drops Salah Ben Hassouna, a resident of Lebel-sur-Quévillon for decades, at the end of the line.
He is one of some 700 Quévillonnais still there. He observes his neighbors filling up their vehicle, then sighs. “I hope not to experience the evacuation a second time… You don’t know in what state you will see your house, your garage, your belongings. »
The threat is very real, visible around him. “The sky is not blue, it is gray, greyish, smoke-colored, he describes. I stay at the edge of the water and I don’t see the forest on the other side. It is not pleasant. »
He could well leave for Senneterre, located 90 kilometers from his home, but “there is no less smoke there than here”. It is rather Lac-Saint-Jean, 600 kilometers away, which could accommodate it temporarily.
The fire that threatens his village continues to grow. Minister Blanchette Vézina indicated that “the fire has merged with five others and we are talking about a fire that is three times the area of Lac Saint-Jean”.
No fires at Saint-Jean
Salah Ben Hassouna, who makes it a point every year to light the fire for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Lebel-sur-Quévillon, will have to give it up this time.
Like this village in Nord-du-Québec, many municipalities will not be lit up in a thousand colors this weekend on the occasion of the national holiday. All the territory north of the St. Lawrence River is subject to a ban on lighting a bonfire or fireworks.
Large-scale shows in Montreal and Quebec will also have to do without fireworks this year, the organizers of these festivities have confirmed to other media.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, the Minister of Public Security François Bonnardel appealed to the common sense of the population. “It’s normal that Quebecers want to celebrate, but I think everyone is aware of the extraordinary situation” in which we find ourselves, he argued.
“We ask that everyone respect the instructions and the rules to ensure that we do not have human cause fires that take shape in the coming days,” added the minister.
Police personnel will also be present during the National Day festivities to ensure that no reckless behavior aggravates the situation.
“Many municipalities have simply decided to postpone the fires,” confirms the vice-president of Royal Pyrotechnie, Éric Fréchette, one of the largest fireworks suppliers in the province. “We have cities that have proposed to make fires during the fall or winter to limit the risks. »
Almost every year, fireworks scheduled for festivities are canceled or postponed due to conditions conducive to wildfires, he said.
The particularity of this year is above all the scale of the disaster.
“It’s big, a lot of hectares are burning, notes Mr. Fréchette. It’s not trivial when firefighters arrive from France and the United States; we wouldn’t want to add a layer of it. »
Professional pyrotechnicians are also required to comply with the directives of the authorities. “We always obey SOPFEU instructions,” recalls Mr. Fréchette. This is not the first time that we have had to cancel or postpone fires at his request because the risk of fire is too great. »
With The Canadian Press