The Press in Chapais | The trial by fire of a young mayor

(Chapais) The youngest mayor of Quebec manages the emergency. His municipality, Chapais, was partially evacuated 10 days ago. And now another fire threatens the small village of Jamésie. The Press got special permission to drive on Route 167 to meet 23-year-old Isabelle Lessard.

Text: Emilie Bilodeau

The Press

“I am 23 years old, soon to be 44”

An interview while taking a walk? Isabelle Lessard hesitates as she looks at her computer and cell phone. If she walks away, she could miss the start of the press conference by the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel.

“Come on, Isabella! Go ahead, it will do you good, “says Kate Kirouac, communications manager for the municipality of 1,600 inhabitants.

Isabelle Lessard finally accepts and admits that she hasn’t gotten much air for two weeks, since the 213 fire broke out very close to the city. The cause of the fire remains to be determined.

“When the fire has started, you could see it there,” she says, pointing to the forest below. “The smoke came quickly, it was not pretty. It spread across the entire width of the city and even came within four kilometers of the houses,” she says as voracious black flies swirl around her head.

“It’s really special because what I like the most about Chapais is what is causing us the most harm at the moment. It’s nature and all the forests nearby, ”said the one who ran for the municipal elections of 2021 when she was only 21 years old. His only opponent withdrew from the race before the ballot.

Isabelle Lessard has been working 16 hours a day since the start of fire 213. Twice a day, she meets with officials from the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (SOPFEU) to find out about the evolution of the fires. In the evening, she addresses her fellow citizens to present the portrait of the situation via Facebook.

“We had to change our equipment for Facebook Live because we really weren’t equipped. Really, really not. The first one we did, we were outside with a cell phone. I tell you, it was milk she said with a giggle.

Evacuation and early warning

Half the population was forced to evacuate Chapais on May 31. The evacuees were able to return to their homes on June 3.

Then, on the 6th, another violent fire broke out, this time north of the city. Chibougamau and the Cree community of Oujé-Bougoumou were evacuated. Chapais has entered pre-alert mode. People with precarious health were encouraged to leave the village in order to be closer to health services.

“Panic set in. People thought the fire was coming to us too. Everyone was worried, including me,” explains Isabelle Lessard, who has lived with anxiety disorders since adolescence.

Two-thirds of the citizens left Chapais on Tuesday evening, at the same time as those of Chibougamau. There are about 550 people left in the village. The remaining cars are covered in ash. Schools are closed. The streets are almost empty. Sûreté du Québec cars are patrolling the almost ghostly village more than ever.

“Right now, I feel that people are extremely tired, under pressure, stressed, anxious,” drops the mayor about her fellow citizens.

Evacuation, a complex task

Isabelle Lessard was criticized for not having made the evacuation compulsory. Chapais is less populated than Chibougamau and therefore faster to evacuate, she defends herself. The fire is also more than 40 kilometers from the village.

Evacuating a city is a more complex task than one might imagine, she adds. “You have to make sure that people have a place to go and that they have transport to leave. You have to go around all the houses to make sure people are aware of the evacuation order and to check that they have really left their homes,” she says.

The events make her realize that her municipality is extremely dependent on Chibougamau: hospital, pharmacies, dentists, pet stores, optometrists, clothing stores, big box stores, she lists. Many Chapaisians have been unemployed and deprived of essential services since the closure of Chibougamau.

However, the grocery store, gas station and snack bar remain open.

This week, City Hall has taken on the task of collecting prescriptions from people who need medication. A citizen made the round trip to Roberval, a three-hour drive, to collect the preparations. She was allowed to take the 167 back north even though the road is closed due to the fires.

“This super good Samaritan, I’m going to name her because she’s my mother,” says the young woman with slicked black hair and painted nails.

Isabelle Lessard interrupts. Three walkers, with their dogs, come in the wrong direction.

“The media forced me to take a break from walking,” she smiles.

“Frankly, she is super good, the mayor,” says Sylvie Imbeault, a citizen of Chibougamau who has found refuge with her daughter in Chapais. M^me Imbeault was Isabelle Lessard’s mother-in-law long before she was elected to city hall.

“She’s really got the nerve for her age. You’re going to mature, the young one, huh? “says M.^me Imbeault.

“I’m 23, soon to be 44,” replies the young woman who is learning to manage a city in the heat of the moment.

Essential businesses are holding up well

Even if two thirds of the population have left the village of Chapais, businesses have chosen to keep their doors open for the citizens who remain.

A tsunami at the gas station

On May 31, Mario Bouchard saw a cloud of smoke rising from the forest, not far from his gas station. He immediately called 911, but another citizen of the municipality had already contacted the emergency services. The city evacuated half of its population, but the gas station barely felt the drop in customers.

A few days later, when the town of Chibougamau was evacuated, the Chapais gas station experienced a tsunami.

“It seems that everyone wanted to flee at the same time as in Chibougamau,” says Mr. Bouchard.

Mr. Bouchard appealed to everyone on Facebook to find a few volunteers to help him out. A firefighter, his spouse and a former city councilor raised their hands.

Comfort Poutine

The snack bar dared to close its doors on Wednesday, but customers immediately demanded its reopening!

This is because citizens discuss all sorts of subjects at the “cabin”. The fires, the smoke, the weather and the evacuations monopolize the discussions more than ever, says the owner of the place, Patricia Landry.

“We realized that for those who stayed, it’s important to offer them the service. It’s a little balm on the heart. We offer happiness to those who stay, ”says M^me Landry.

The grocery store, as long as it takes

The only grocery store in the village will remain open as long as it has employees, says owner Doris Bouchard. But already 50% of them have fled the city since it is in pre-alert mode.

The grocer has also had to reduce food orders. “It’s very annoying,” says M.^me Bouchard.

“It is a very special situation”, notes M^me Bouchard, who is delighted to be able to keep his business open for those who have decided to stay in Chapais.