Residential areas near Vallée-de-l'Or evacuated as fire is out of control again
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As a forest fire again rages out of control, mandatory evacuation notices were sent out Tuesday afternoon to residents of Vallée-de-l'Or, Que., a regional municipal county about 500 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
Be they temporary or permanent residents, everybody in the Lac Gueguen, Lac Matchi-Manitou and Lac Villebon areas are ordered to leave their premises by 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening, for an indefinite period.
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The provincial fire service, the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU), will intercept all evacuees at the Chimo Road exit to register each individual.
Residents who aren't able to make it to the checkpoint are encouraged to register by phone 819-824-9613, ext. 0, or by email at communications@ville.valdor.qc.ca.
Firefighters from the U.S. and Portugal have flown to Quebec to help put out wildfires. (Michel Aspirot/Radio-Canada)
Evacuees can also use that phone number and email to get more information.
The municipality of Val-d'Or says on its Facebook page that residents need to provide their names, addresses and phone numbers and inform the city of where they will be staying in the interim.
Evacuees are encouraged to close doors and windows, unplug electrical and household appliances, leave exterior lights on and bring pets. More instructions can be found here.
SOPFEU says the situation remains unchanged for the other areas, and Val-d'Or's more urban sector is not threatened by the fire.
Preventive measures, including the ban on open fires or driving in the forest, remain in effect.
Val-d'Or says in a Tuesday news release that it will fine people for not complying with the bans.
Another sector, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., is on standby, officials announced Tuesday evening, as an evacuation order may be ordered there as well. Lebel-sur-Quévillon is about 130 kilometres north of Val-d'Or.
Thumbnail courtesy of Amélie Hébert/Société de protection des forêts contre le feu via CBC.
The story was written and published for CBC News.
