“A hard blow” for the Mont Édouard resort already in financial difficulties

The fire which completely destroyed the main building of the Mont Édouard ski resort at the end of the day on Friday is a real “hard blow” for the tourist destination of L’Anse-Saint-Jean which was already experiencing significant financial difficulties. , admits Guy Bélanger, president of the Friends of Mont Édouard.

It’s a hard blow, we had important files that we were in the process of putting in place. It comes at the wrong time. We are courageous. We will see what will have to be done. We’re going to get together, we’re going to talk about it, we’re going to find solutionshe said in the evening on Friday in the parking lot of the ski resort, a few steps from the blaze which was still smoking.

Les Amis du Mont Édouard is a non-profit organization created in 2023 to ensure the sustainability of the resort. He collected donations in support of the resort which has mountain bike trails and camping areas. The $2.5 million goal was almost reached.

We are very close to this amount. We were finishing the fundraising campaign and we had a meeting to plan the closing and discuss our plans between now and the fallexplained Guy Bélanger.

The station, which belongs to the municipality, was sheltered from its creditors last July. A recovery plan was then put in place.

We watch it burn and we’re a little defeated.

The summit meeting, which was scheduled for Sunday, will be brought forward to Saturday. We’re going to meet tomorrow [samedi]the day after tomorrow with the board of directors and the executive team and we will see where we go after thatassured Marc-André Busque, the general director of the ski resort, who was not able to say whether the summer mountain biking and camping season, which had not yet started, would be compromised.

It’s really too early to tellhe confided, admitting however that his desire was to limit the closures.

Around 8:30 p.m. Friday, a few firefighters were still working on the scene. They no longer even tried to extinguish the meager flames still present in the shell of the ski chalet which was declared a total loss.

At this point we do not yet have any details on the cause of the fire. We are fully cooperating with the competent authorities and letting public security conduct its investigation to determine the exact circumstances of this incident.wrote the management of Mont Édouard in a message published on Facebook around 9:15 p.m.

Many curious people

The many curious people who had come to admire the blaze had also packed up. Dozens of people came to watch the scene during the evening. Among them, there were many residents of L’Anse-Saint-Jean.

It’s very sad to see this. Keeping Mont Édouard active and alive is super important here, in the community in L’Anse-Saint-Jean. To see that there is nothing left at all, it’s really sadlet down Lina Raymond, a Montrealer who has owned a second home for 22 years in the village crossed inside the security perimeter.

Some elected officials also came to support citizens.

There are no deaths, there are no injuries, that’s positive. Now we’ll have to roll up our sleeves because we had lots of projects with the Mont Édouard station. We’ll continue, but at the same time, it’s really sad to see it all goconfided Andrée Laforest, minister responsible for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region.

The prefect of the MRC from Fjord-du-Saguenay, Gérald Savard, was also emotional in front of the remains of the ski resort. In recent months, we have done everything to save Mont Édouard. We gave guarantees, we promised big subsidies. And here we see it today, it’s sad.

We will do everything to keep this going. There’s nothing we won’t do. We’re going to be there.

Yvan Côté, advisor to the municipality of L’Anse-Saint-Jean, also visited the site. It’s a hard blow. We will watch, we will wait for the insurance companies to carry out an assessment. We’re going to get together. It’s just the building that’s affected. All the infrastructure is thereunderlined the advisor.

The forest and other installations spared

Around thirty firefighters from the Fjord Intermunicipal Fire Safety Authority (RISIF) fought against the flames. They managed to limit the damage to the main chalet. The surrounding nature, condos and ski lifts were spared.

h, there was a general conflagration in the refuge sector. We focused on protecting the surrounding buildings and the forest as well”,”text”:”When we arrived around 5 p.m., there was a general conflagration in the refuge sector. We focused on protecting neighboring buildings and the forest as well”}}”>When we arrived around 5 p.m., there was a general conflagration in the refuge sector. We focused on protecting neighboring buildings and the forest toospecified Kevin Gagné, deputy director of RISIF.