The fire from Labrador is moving towards northern Quebec, where the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) is preparing to intervene to prevent it from spreading to Fermont.
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“The fire is now close to the border and preparing to move back into Quebec,” Stephane Caron, SOPFEU’s fire prevention coordinator, said in a phone interview.
Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador were evacuated Friday because of the fire.
SOPFEU is planning air and ground operations to control its spread along the Quebec side of the border.
The north coast mining town of Fermont is urging people to take precautions due to an early warning notice to evacuate.
The sector has been affected by “thick smoke caused by winds blowing towards the city”, we can read in a press release published by the City on social networks on Friday evening. Smoke is coming from the north of the Fairmont and Bloom Lake facilities, it has been pointed out.
Call with caution
By mid-week, SOPFEU had appealed for caution in Côte-Nord, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Nord-du-Québec and Abitibi.
Stephen Caron of SOPFEU explained that fire spread and severity indices are very high, leading to fires that spread quickly.
“Every day we had repeated lightning strikes which led to fires in these sectors,” he asserted.
According to the SOPFEU website, 10 forest fires were intense in the extreme zone on Saturday.
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