Residents in Port-Cartier, Que. ordered to evacuate due to wildfires

Smoke from forest fires in Port-Cartier is seen in Sept-Iles, Que., on Friday, June 21, 2024. (Source: @fidoudaa/X.com)

A city on Quebec's north shore issued an evacuation order Friday due to the threat of dangerous wildfires in the area.

The City of Port-Cartier, about 600 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, said residents in Parc Brunel, Parc Dominique, and those living north of Route 138 were ordered to evacuate by 8 p.m., according to a post on the city's Facebook page.

Quebec's public security minister, François Bonnardel, said on social media that about 1,000 residents were forced to leave their homes and that government officials were providing assistance to those affected.

Evacuees were told to go to a temporary shelter at the Centre Henry-Leonard in Baie-Comeau, which is about 170 kilometres away.

It's possible that the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution could also be forced to evacuate the roughly 200 prisoners being held.

A bus is also expected to transport residents who don't have a vehicle or who can't drive, the city said.

"We are aware of the concern that a situation like this can create," the city wrote in the post. "In this sense, we ask you to remain calm and drive carefully."

Quebec's forest fire prevention agency, the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU), said that on Thursday, lightning strikes sparked seven forest fires north of Port-Cartier and Sept-Îles, Que. Five of the wildfires were extinguished but two remain out of control.

Some residents in Sept-Îles were told to be on alert in case the ctiy orders them to also evacuate.