The approximately 1,000 residents of Port-Cartier who were evacuated Thursday evening due to the forest fires can now return to their homes, although two forest fires are still out of control in the region and the state of emergency is maintained .
A forest fire near Port-Cartier, on the North Shore, led to the evacuation of residences north of Route 138 on Thursday. Monday afternoon, city authorities authorized the return of residents, while mentioning that the situation could change quickly.
“The situation is far from being resolved,” underlined the mayor of Port-Cartier, Alain Thibault, before announcing the lifting of the evacuation order. “Caution remains in order,” he added, specifying that the Sûreté du Québec will be on site to help residents return to their homes safely.
The first fire, located west and east of Walker Lake, is still considered out of control and is approximately 1,165 hectares in size. Ms. Morin said 28 wildland firefighters were on the ground Monday in the southern portion of the fire, in addition to four air tankers.
“It’s not impossible to see smoke plugs, to smell smoke in inhabited areas,” she said.
The situation is similar with the second fire, in the Morin Lake sector. This one, located about 12 km north of Port-Cartier, covers about 919 hectares and is also out of control. Some 24 forest firefighters are working on it, in addition to two heavy helicopters that are doing “continuous watering,” said Ms. Morin.
The next rain is not expected until Wednesday.
The general director of Port-Cartier, Nicolas Mayrand, for his part, invited citizens to save drinking water. He said the air quality was stable for now.
Smoke from forest fires no longer causes poor air quality in Port-Cartier and Sept-Îles, Environment Canada mentioned Monday morning, while warning that a change in wind direction could lead to a deterioration of air quality in the coming hours. The City of Port-Cartier also mentioned that air quality will once again be an issue to monitor throughout the day.