Current weather conditions could “reinvigorate” forest fires in Quebec and trigger new ones, the Department of Public Security warned Saturday morning.
The flammability rating is rated as “very high” to “extreme” in several areas of the province, the ministry said in an update posted on its website. Low rainfall and rising temperatures explain these significant fire risks.
Several regions therefore remain under “high surveillance”, namely Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Nord-du-Québec and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
“The Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (SOPFEU) is currently fighting 81 active fires in the intensive zone, of which 25 are out of control and 43 are priorities,” reads the Public Security document.
Saturday morning, 114 forest fires were active in Quebec, 82 of which were in the intensive zone, according to figures from SOPFEU.
The objective is still to fight priority fires in order to protect communities and certain strategic infrastructures, but new municipalities have had no choice but to evacuate in the past few hours.
Several sectors of Senneterre, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, were notably the subject of an evacuation notice on Friday afternoon. Residents of Chemin du Millage 20, de la Chute, des Pionniers, Dion and Ménard had until 5 p.m. Friday to leave their homes, the city said on its Facebook page.
In the evening, it was the turn of the locality of Valcanton, in Nord-du-Québec, to order the evacuation of the Beaucanton, Val-Paradis and Lac Pajegasque sectors.
As for the residents of the Cree community of Mistissini, located northeast of Chibougamau, they had to evacuate their territory on Friday morning. The approximately 3,800 Aboriginal people who live there were directed to Saguenay.
Citizens residing in certain sectors of the city of Val-d’Or, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, have also been evacuated since Tuesday.
Rain expected in Lebel-sur-Quévillon
In Lebel-sur-Quévillon, in Jamésie, a complete evacuation took place Thursday evening, since two major fires threatened one of the two roads which connect the small municipality to the rest of the province.
The mayor of the municipality, Guy Lafrenière, clarified in a video posted on the municipality’s Facebook page on Saturday morning that the 256 fire threatening the north of Lebel-sur-Quévillon is “stable”.
Fire 344, east of the municipality, “behaved as expected,” according to the mayor. SOPFEU teams have carried out burning work in the area over the past two days to redirect the trajectory of the fire.
“It’s a considerable advantage to protect Route 113 south,” which is still blocked to traffic, said Mr. Lafrenière.
However, “the smoke conditions in the city will continue to be intense, the weather forecast tells us that the temperature will also be very high today (Saturday)”, specified the mayor.
Lebel-sur-Quévillon is expecting rain on Tuesday, or even Wednesday, “in good quantity”, mentioned Mr. Lafrenière, which gives him hope of being able to give “good news” to residents shortly.
A power outage affected Lebel-sur-Quévillon for an hour on Friday. Mayor Lafrenière told the population not to worry about the contents of their refrigerator, since the breakdown was short-lived in the municipality.
No other evacuation planned in Senneterre
New evacuations are not planned in Senneterre over the next two days, announced the municipality’s emergency measures coordinator, Marilyne Fournier, during a press briefing on Saturday afternoon.
“I can’t guarantee you that we won’t have an evacuation, but it’s not on our radar right now,” she said.
Mayor Nathalie Ann Pelchat also said the air quality was “very poor” on Saturday, and asked people to stay indoors. She recalled the ban on open fires, and recommended that citizens who wish to celebrate the National Day do so safely inside their homes.
“For people who would like to come and breathe better air […] you can come to La Concorde high school until 9 p.m. tonight (Saturday), ”also said Ms.me Fournier, saying that a “good air” room has been set up in the school. This service will also be open on Sunday.
Smog warnings
On Saturday morning, Environment Canada issued smog warnings and special air quality weather statements for almost all regions of Quebec, except for areas along the St. Lawrence Valley.
” [Samedi]a plume of fine particles at high to very high concentrations will maintain its trajectory and will further affect the regions of Côte-Nord, Gaspésie, Nord-du-Québec, Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean and Terres- cries-de-la-Baie-James”, has also provided Public Security in the morning.
Thus, smog warnings have been put in place in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Saguenay — Lac-Saint-Jean, as well as in Rivière-du-Loup, Trois-Pistoles, La Tuque and Mont-Laurier, among others.
“Smoke from wildfires can be harmful to everyone’s health, even at low concentrations. Everyone can take steps to reduce their exposure to wildfire smoke,” says Environment Canada in its smog warnings.
Among other things, the federal agency recommends reducing your activity level if you feel discomfort while breathing, wearing a properly fitted respirator, such as an N95 respirator, and reducing sources of indoor air pollution.
People with lung disease such as asthma or heart disease, the elderly, children, pregnant women, and people who work outdoors are at greater risk of health effects from smoke , points out Environment Canada.
Several other sectors are also subject to a special weather report aimed at warning the population of poor air quality. Such bulletins were published from east to west of Quebec, even reaching Newfoundland and Labrador.