Lebel-sur-Quevillon residents still displaced after wildfire conditions worsen overnight

The some 2,000 evacuated residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon in Northern Quebec are on high alert Friday after fire conditions took a turn for the worse overnight.

Mayor Guy Lafrenière had hinted Thursday evening at the possibility of a gradual return home.

But, while visiting Val-d'Or early on Friday, the Minister for Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, said the situation had evolved overnight.

"There are significant flammability indicators, particularly in the Lebel-sur-Quévillon area today, which were not as significant when I had my briefing last night. So, overnight, the situation changed. It's evolving rapidly," said Blanchette Vézina.

The municipality is protected by firebreak trenches, with extra precautions surrounding the Nordic Kraft plant, where large quantities of hydrocarbons and chemicals are stored.

American firefighters have also been dispatched to the region as Lebel-sur-Quévillon, accessible by a single road, remains surrounded by uncontrolled fires.

Over 100 wildfires were still raging in Quebec as of Friday morning.

The huge blaze northwest of Chibougamau remains the other major concern, but poses no imminent evacuation threat for citizens, who have only just returned home. The same applies to the neighbouring communities of Chapais and Oujé-Bougoumou.

Thankfully, conditions have improved elsewhere in the province, said Blanchette Vézina:

"There are regions, particularly in the centre, which have received several millimetres of water, enabling SOPFEU to say that, for the time being, the situation is under control."

Meanwhile, smog warnings have been issued for parts of southern and western Quebec.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 16, 2023.