As forests continue to burn across parts of the province and reinforcements start to trickle in, Quebec Premier François Legault says the situation has stabilized for communities caught in the crosshairs of the wildfires in western and northern Quebec.
"We've had an increase in the number of evacuees. We are at around 13,500, but we think the number will remain the same in the next two days," Legault said on Thursday.
Even though the fires are being held back for now, Legault said the evacuees from the northern communities of Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon would not be able to return home before at least Tuesday.
The situation in the Cree communities of Mistissini and Waswanipi has not reached the threshold for an evacuation order, the premier said. However about half of Waswanipi's residents were advised to leave the village last night and are now hunkering down in Quebec City.
Normétal in the Abitibi region of the province, with a population of about 800, remains most at risk. Flames have been inching toward the municipality's doorstep, said Legault.
Reinforcements arriving
In addition to 50 or so New Brunswick firefighters coming into Quebec, Legault said 100 firefighters will be arriving from France today, bringing the total number of firefighters in the province to combat the wildfires to 800. The premier said Quebec hopes to get another 400 firefighters on the ground.
Legault thanked southern mayors, like Montreal's Valérie Plante, who have offered to send firefighters. But the premier said the province's fire prevention agency, SOPFEU, cannot take on more firefighters because it does not have the capacity to train them or supervise them right now.
Earlier today, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said, unlike local auxiliary firefighters or firefighters from Montreal and Laval, the reinforcements are already trained to fight forest fires and will be able to hit the ground as soon as they arrive.
Quebec is also hoping the U.S. will be willing to furnish some firefighting equipment, as wildfire smoke from Quebec drifts southward creating smoggy conditions.
As of 11 a.m. Thursday, 137 fires were active, down from Wednesday's 149, but most are still out of control. About 35 are being tamed by fire crews, said Bonnardel.
"We're not just crossing our fingers, this shows the professionalism of those on the ground," he said at a news conference Thursday. "There have been no injuries in over a week, there have been deaths and no homes have burned down in Quebec thanks to this colossal effort."
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Climate change and forest fires
When asked by a journalist about whether the Quebec government should have done more to fight climate change before the fires started burning, Legault said the issues of forest fires weren't on the radar.
"During the election campaign, we talked a lot about shoreline erosion. Nobody in the opposition parties or journalists were talking about forests, and then, we were all surprised," he said.
He added the province would adapt its approach as situations evolve and work with municipalities to fight forest fires going forward.
No new evacuations planned
Rain and cooler weather conditions have helped ease fires in the eastern side of the province, and Sept-Îles, a city in the North Shore region of eastern Quebec, ended its state of emergency. But western and northern Quebec have stayed dry and there is no rain forecast until Monday.
In the mining town of Normétal in the Abitibi, SOPFEU crews are keeping the fire at bay — just 500 metres from the town and its water treatment plant. Bonnardel said the situation is being closely monitored and is mostly stable, however, temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days.
Karine Pelletier, a spokesperson for SOPFEU, said it is confident it can keep the fire under control.
It is estimated that more than 638,000 hectares of land have burned so far, most of them in the northern areas of the province, said Bonnardel.
A full list of evacuated municipalities can be found on the Quebec government's website. No other evacuations are planned in the short-term, said Bonnardel, and it's too soon to say when people will be able to go back home.
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