MONTREAL -- A major forest fire in Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region is continuing to spread, ravaging more than 11,000 hectares of forest overnight and forcing authorities to evacuate a large perimeter.
Josee Poitras, spokeswoman for the agency that oversees forest fires in the province, says the aggressive, out-of-control blaze now covers more than 58,000 hectares of forest and has steadily grown since Tuesday.
The fire started north of Dolbeau-Mistassini, in an area known as Chutes-des-Passes, and is heading towards Saguenay through the Monts-Valin area.
“The winds changed direction, so the fire grew in width. It went towards to the Péribonka IV Hydro-Quebec power station,” said Poitras.
The hydroelectric plant is not threatened at the moment, although the flames are 1.2 km from the structure.
The power station is well protected since it is underground.
The plant has been shut down as a preventive measure, said Hydro-Quebec spokesperson Maxence Huard-Lefebvre.
Huard-Lefebvre said that there is “absolutely no” risk to power in Quebec.
“The hydroelectric plants in Quebec are interconnected on the network,” he explained.
Hydro-Quebec, which has an agreement with SOPFEU to protect its assets when forest fires approach within 5 km, is monitoring the situation and anticipates that the winds will soon turn.
Poitras says the fire threatens an area that includes chalets and fishing camps, noting a ban on driving in the area was ordered Friday by the province's Forestry Department.
About 100 employees of the forest fire agency, known as SOPFEU, and 49 forest firefighters are battling the blaze today with a call for reinforcements from across the province.
Planes and helicopters are being used to combat the blaze again today, with temperatures expected to feel like 40 C in the area, further complicating the work of firefighters on the ground.
On Friday evening, Premier Francois Legault said he was concerned about the situation and said the priority was to keep citizens out of harm's way.
BAS-SAINT-LAURENT FIRE
A peat fire reported at 3 p.m. Friday also mobilized SOPFEU teams in Rivière-Ouelle, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. Tankers were also called to fight the flames, which ravaged 15 hectares.
Twenty forest firefighters were deployed on Saturday morning and municipal firefighters are lending a hand.
TOUGH START TO THE SEASON
Thirteen forest fires are active in Quebec.
SOPFEU has already fought 435 fires this year, twice the average on this date for the past ten years.
“Very early in the season there were bans on open fires,” said Poitras, which is still the case in several regions of Quebec.
Contrary to what one might think, lightning has only been the source of three fires since the beginning of the year, “99 per cent of these fires are caused by humans,” according to stats provided by Poitras.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2020.
