Threatened from all sides by historic forest fires, the village of Clova, in Haute-Mauricie, remained intact for the most part on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, we will be forced to let Clova burn,” Prime Minister François Legault had predicted the day before. The village finally held firm, thanks in part to the solidarity of its inhabitants.
The fire was contained, confirmed SOPFEU at the start of the afternoon. Its progression is stopped, at least “temporarily”.
“It is no longer an issue for the village”, affirms Meggie Richard, resident of Clova, contacted on the spot by THE Duty.
Firebreak trenches and targeted watering slowed the advance of the blaze. “We just hope it doesn’t pass the firebreak, we still have strong winds,” she said. If it jumps the fire barrier, it goes directly to Lac des Neiges, where there are about forty chalets. »
“To date, it’s all correct. But that changes very quickly. The winds make all the difference,” notes elected municipal official Éric Chagnon.
Winds reached 40 km/h in the early afternoon.
[???? SITUATION DE LA MUNICIPALITÉ DE CLOVA]
The intensity of the fire exceeded the capacity of the air tankers. No residences have yet been destroyed. Some cabins may have burned down.
SOPFEU is trying to protect Clova through ground work and helicopter spraying.— SOPFEU (@SOPFEU) June 5, 2023
A few chalets were burned down in the area. However, it is impossible to go on site to estimate the damage.
“On Chemin Lépine, there are chalets destroyed, but we don’t have access, so we can’t measure the damage,” explains Daniel Lanthier, from the Tessier lake outfitter, located not far away.
Solidarity
Mr. Lanthier’s colleagues worked “from morning until night” to support SOPFEU firefighters. They filled large water tanks and scrambled to put out the beginnings of fires.
“We walk around and watch the roadsides. But we can’t get to where the big fire is. We don’t have access. SOPFEU is in charge of that,” says Dominic Vincent, resident of Clova.
About 15 residents among the 35 who live there year-round stayed on.
Others in the area would have liked to join the effort, but land routes to Clova have been blocked by authorities.
Joffré Prévost, who owns a chalet in Clova, claims to have around him a few dozen colleagues ready to go up with “equipment” to help residents. “Without playing firefighters, we can monitor the fires, bring pumps, gasoline, moral support, food. We want to help them! »
SOPFEU does not allow the public to lend a hand without adequate training. “Your commitment to our mission is precious. However, we would like to inform you that, for practical and work safety reasons, we unfortunately cannot accept unsolicited offers of help from the public,” the organization wrote on its social media.
Prime Minister Legault corrected the situation late Tuesday morning, explaining that he had only relayed information from SOPFEU the day before. “What I’m told so far is that most houses are not affected. »
By midday Tuesday, about 150 fires were raging across Quebec.