A wave of solidarity is sweeping through Lac-Saint-Jean towards the people evacuated from Chibougamau. There are countless messages offering accommodation or space to install trailers.
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In the Chibougamau-Chapais Mutual Aid Alert Facebook group, announcements have multiplied since the evacuation overnight of residents who had to leave their homes due to forest fires. Everyone wants to help in their own way.
The Girardville Forestry Cooperative, for example, offered accommodation with meal service in a forest camp, located at 3103 route Industrielle, in Girardville.
“We have 22 rooms with a single bed, as well as 14 rooms with 2 single beds. The camps are equipped with toilets and showers and cooking service is offered at set times through the camp kitchen,” the post read.
Several other citizens offer space to people who have trailers.
This is particularly the case of Simon-Olivier Dumas who invites people to settle on the former site of the Ciné-Parc, in Saint-Félicien.
“There is a solidarity movement everywhere in Lac-Saint-Jean. We offer it to people, if it can help reduce stress,” said Simon-Olivier Dumas, co-owner of Jean Dumas Ford.
“There will be a lot of people in Roberval. So we wanted to offer our land which is vacant. We had the opportunity to do it and we want to help people who need it,” he added.
According to Mr. Dumas, many evacuees carry their trailer, because they do not know how long they will be kept away from their homes or if they will find one when they return.
“These people are in the unknown. They don’t know if the fire will progress or not.”
“If we ever fill this ground, we have others,” he added.
Like many Quebecers, Mr. Dumas is saddened by what he sees.
“It’s sad as much for our workers who are arrested as for SOPFEU, which is fighting day and night these fires which are spreading towards towns and hunting camps. It sure is sad. It’s also all the animals that are in danger there. These are not pretty things to see in our area, ”he shared.
The mayor of Roberval satisfied
Met at the Benoît-Levesque Sports Center where hundreds of residents evacuated from Chibougamau were sent, the mayor of Roberval, Serge Bergeron, said he was very satisfied to see what had been put in place.
“We started preparing yesterday morning. We picked up everything we could and rounded up all the personnel we could. Everyone pitched in and we were ready when the first people arrived from Chibougamau around midnight,” said the mayor.
Nicolas St-Pierre, Journal de Quebec
More than 450 beds were set up by many volunteers from the city of Roberval. Some even came to give their name to welcome evacuated families.
“There was an outpouring of solidarity from the population of Roberval, including businesses and pharmacies, which helped ensure that this organization was welcoming and functional,” added Mr. Bergeron.
Several families have already been relocated, but the mayor ensures that everything is in place so that no one misses anything and above all, that everyone can return to their homes.
“For the moment, we are waiting to know what decision will be made regarding the progression of the fire. SOPFEU doubled its workforce this morning so that he wouldn’t enter the city,” emphasizes Serge Bergeron.
Chapais waiting, Saint-Félicien is ready
Residents of the neighboring municipality of Chapais meanwhile are on standby, with a pre-evacuation alert in effect since Tuesday evening. However, no evacuations have been ordered according to the municipality’s latest update on Wednesday morning.
In the event of an order to leave, they would however be redirected to Saint-Félicien.
“Residents of Chapais are also waiting to be evacuated. If so, the City of Saint-Félicien is already ready to welcome them. If they are not and there is an overflow here, people would be redirected to Saint-Félicien, ”said the mayor of Roberval.
- Listen to the interview with Serge Bergeron, Mayor of Roberval on Yasmine Abdelfadel’s show via QUB-radio :
Transfer of patients
For its part, the CIUSSS du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean offers its full cooperation and the support of its teams to welcome the populations of Chibougamau and the community of Oujé-Bougoumou, who were urgently evacuated in night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
“Our teams are mobilized and participate in the logistical and human effort to welcome the evacuees in our region. The majority of the victims have arrived in Roberval and Saguenay, or are about to do so. The evacuation and transfers of patients have been coordinated in concert with the MSSS and other establishments of the health network at the provincial level in order to ensure rapid care, “said the CIUSSS by press release. in the last few minutes.
“Users requiring priority needs were evacuated by air to Quebec and Montreal. Teams from the CIUSSS offer psychosocial support to disaster victims who are housed at the Roberval arena, at the Cégep de Chicoutimi and at UQAC, and a committee is in place to take care of the most vulnerable people. he mentioned.
“We are also evaluating, in real time, our reception capacity in our various regional facilities in order to respond quickly to an increase in needs for first-line care or short and long-term accommodation services, and also in resources for specific needs,” adds the CIUSSS.
More details to come…
– With the collaboration of Nicolas St-Pierre