Quebec wildfire situation 'stable' for coming days; evacuees stuck until next week
CTV
Quebec's precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won't be able to return home until early next week, Premier Francois Legault said Thursday.
Quebec's precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won't be able to return home until early next week, Premier François Legault said Thursday.
"We have (as of) today, 13,500 people that have been evacuated, we think that it'll be stable in the next few days," Legault told a briefing, but said that evacuees from Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., which account for a large number of those displaced, won't be able to return until Tuesday at the earliest.
Quebec's wildfire fight was focused Thursday in the province's northern and western regions, where flames had reached the doorstep of a municipality of roughly 800 people. Authorities said a wildfire was within 500 metres of Normétal, Que., located 720 kilometres northwest of Montreal, in the Abitibi region.
The province's forest fire prevention agency — Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) — said it was confident the small community could be protected, with winds less strong than first feared.
Seven aircraft had been working in the area to reduce the pace of that fire.
"As of yesterday, it was at about 1,500 metres from the community and it has gotten closer very slowly all the day," said Sylvain Tremblay, a SOPFEU official. "But it was a slow burn and we managed to to make some drops with the bombers to slow the fire even more so."
Tremblay said although some parts of the fire are close to the community, it remained stable.
Epcor says a chlorinelike smell or taste to Edmonton’s water is the natural result of treating spring runoff and that the water is still safe to drink.
Almost 13 years after the City of Calgary suffered its historic flood, six properties along the city’s Elbow River are now being sold.
Police in Surrey, B.C., are investigating an overnight shooting at a business in the city’s Cloverdale area.
Nearly 15,000 full-time equivalent positions will be cut in federal departments over the next three years, as part of the federal government’s plan to find $60 billion in savings by 2029.
Police in Timmins have released photos of an 18-year-old suspect wanted for shooting a man to death last November.
A crossing guard is being treated for serious injuries after he was struck by a vehicle during the morning commute in Barrhaven.
British Columbia’s river forecaster has rescinded the high streamflow advisories that covered southern parts of the province after heavy rains last week.
It’s an extra long March Break for some students in Nova Scotia following a spring snowfall.
Ontario to seize ownership of Toronto Island Airport lands and declare it is a special economic zone
Premier Doug Ford says the provincial government will be seizing ownership of city-owned lands at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport and declaring it a special economic zone, invoking new powers that will allow it to override environmental and other regulations.
Saskatchewan’s highest court has dismissed an appeal in the case of a years-long land dispute between the Village of Buena Vista and local landowners.
A participant in the 18th Annual Montreal Lake Walleye Derby is alleged to have violated derby rules over the weekend.
Three byelections are being held on April 13 and the results could have an impact on both the makeup of Parliament and how long it lasts. Here’s a primer on how things could change.
A member of Manitoba’s government caucus and the first First Nations woman elected to the province’s legislature has died.