Chibougamau, Que., officials say town could be evacuated again due to forest fires
CBC
The progression of two uncontrollable fires near Chibougamau, in northern Quebec, may force about 7,300 residents to evacuate from the town again, officials are warning.
In a Facebook post on Saturday evening, the city of Chibougamau said it asked Quebec's forest fire agency (SOPFEU) to give the town at least seven to 10 hours' notice before fires 379 and 334 force them to leave town.
"We ask that you remain vigilant and calm while we follow the evolution of this fire," the message referring to fire 334 reads.
The city has promised to follow up on the situation on Sunday on its Facebook page and hold a news conference.
All residents of Chibougamau were ordered to immediately evacuate from the town on the evening of June 6, before being allowed to begin returning home almost a week later, on June 12. The public was invited to relocate to Roberval, about 255 kilometres away.
Chibougamau would not be the first city in Quebec to face a second evacuation. In Lebel-sur-Quévillon, in Jamésie, another evacuation took place Thursday evening and was still in effect Sunday morning.
Rain is expected in Chibougamau Monday, but Lebel-sur-Quévillon will likely have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday for precipitation.
Households forced to evacuate a second time are entitled to request another $1,500 in compensation from the Quebec government.
Across the province, 79 fires were still active on Sunday morning, in addition to 33 others in the northern zone, according to SOPFEU data. Saturday afternoon, SOPFEU indicated 25 fires were still out of control in its status report.
Besides Lebel-sur-Quévillon, evacuations are also underway in certain sectors of Senneterre and Val-d'Or, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, as well as Mistissini and the locality of Valcanton, in northern Quebec. More than 430 vulnerable people from the community of Obedjiwan, in Mauricie, were also forced to leave as a preventive measure.
But the impact of the forest fires is felt beyond the regions where the flames are raging on Sunday morning, as Environment Canada considers the air quality in much of the province to be poor.
Smog warnings had already been issued Saturday morning in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, as well as in Rivière-du-Loup, Trois-Pistoles, La Tuque and Mont-Laurier, but the federal agency added new regions to the list on Sunday.
Major cities such as Montreal, Quebec, Laval, Longueuil and Trois-Rivières are all subject to a smog warning on Sunday, as are several other regions in the St. Lawrence Valley and surrounding areas.
The poor air quality has also prompted the last-minute cancellation of an Ironman triathlon in Mont-Tremblant that was set to take place Sunday.
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