Quebec wildfires: Lebel-sur-Quévillon evacuated again
Posted June 22, 2023 12:24 pm.
Last Updated June 22, 2023 5:50 pm.
UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., evacuated again as wildfires approach. This is the second time that the 2,000 residents have had to leave their homes in less than three weeks. The announcement came on the town’s website on Thursday afternoon. Mayor Guy Lafreniere says one of two routes connecting the community to the rest of the province has been blocked by a fire. He says everyone must leave before 6:30 p.m.
Hot, dry conditions are forecast to continue through the weekend in regions of Quebec threatened by wildfires.
Katia Petit, a senior Quebec civil security official, says no community or essential infrastructure is immediately threatened by flames, but says there is heavy smoke in some areas.
In the northern Quebec town of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Mayor Guy Lafrenière says winds are pushing the fire away from the main road connecting the community to the rest of the province — but flames are now moving toward the town itself.
He says in a video message today that the fire has crossed a river that officials had hoped would act as a natural firebreak.
Lafrenière says residents — who only recently returned home after a two-week evacuation — should be ready to leave quickly and recommends that people leave the community if they have somewhere else to go because of the intense smoke.
The province’s wildfire prevention agency says there are more than 100 fires burning right now and 43 are considered priorities because they could threaten communities or critical infrastructure.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2023.
The Canadian Press
