Quebec fire situation remains critical

Nearly a dozen forest fires raged out of control on Friday in central Quebec as firefighters from across the continent arrived to help in the containment efforts that started this week.

More than 2,300 people were ordered from their homes in communities in the Upper Mauricie region after record-breaking heat, windy conditions and lightning storms created ideal conditions for sparks to spread.

As of Friday afternoon, Quebec's forest fire protection agency (SOPFEU) said 56 fires were burning across the province, including 10 that remain out of control. The fire zone covers 65,100 hectares of forest.

'We don't really have a choice but to deal with this one day at a time.' —Wemotachi band council chief Simon Coocoo

"We've had good news today, the winds are light throughout the province, so we were able to get work done," said SOPFEU spokesperson Mélanie Morin. "When there is lighter winds, that meant that the fire is less intense. 

Morin said the forecast calls for winds to remain light for the next few days, but there is no sign of the rain she said is desperately needed.

Many in temporary shelters

Thick smoke blanketing the First Nations community of Manawan, 180 kilometres north of Joliette had earlier forced officials to recommend people leave their homes.

"I was with my baby and I was just holding him in my arms and it was really hard. I was worried about his condition," said resident Mikon Niquay-Ottawa, who like hundreds of others had sought shelter at the arena in Joliette.

Conditions in the crowded arena were less than comfortable for Jean-François Phelama and his five young sons.

"They are afraid," said Phelama. "They are worried that Manawan will burn."

Officials said the fire was within 20 kilometres of the town.

"We are doing everything we can — we are using the water bombers to cool down the hot spots, creating fire breaks around the town so that the fire, when it does get close, it will stop at the fire break," said Morin. "We're patrolling the town to make sure that any infrastructures that are threatened, we can protect them," said Morin.

Meanwhile, residents from the First Nations community of Wemotaci continued to wait for news about the fate of their town, roughly 200 kilometres north of Trois-Rivières.

More than 1,300 people remain holed up in shelters in nearby La Tuque as firefighters continued to battle four fires encroaching on the town.

"We don't really have a choice but to deal with this one day at a time," said band council Chief Simon Coocoo. "I am asking people to be patient … but the day we go home, it will be everyone that will go home."

Public security officials are using helicopters to check on a few holdouts from the community who refused to leave their homes.

"We are concentrating our efforts to go in the zones where the smoke is most dense," said provincial police spokesperson Éloise Cossette.

Because of the intense heat, firefighters are still being forced to combat the fire indirectly.

Another 200 people have been asked to leave the Obedjiwan reserve, which is also in the Upper Mauricie region.

Resources maxed out

The number of fires across the province has stretched SOPFEU's resources to the limit.

Resources from the Maine Forest Service, as well as from Alberta and New Brunswick, have been dispatched to provide assistance. Two water bombers from Manitoba have also been sent to Quebec to help local teams.

The province has banned access to several forests in the region between Roberval, La Tuque, Parent and the Gouin Reservoir. Roads and highways in those regions remain open to traffic.

A ban on open fires remains in effect across many of the province's regions.

So far, there have been nearly 30 per cent more fires than usual this season in Quebec.