A major forest fire is gaining ground north of Sept-Îles

A first fire raged northeast of Sept-Îles, along the Nipissis River. He is under the supervision of the SOPFEU since Sunday. It covers an area of ​​644 hectares, the equivalent of 885 football pitches.

Its flames forced the suspension of railroad operations QNS&L in the night from Sunday to Monday, since its rails cross an area weakened by the forest fire. The departure of the Tshiuetin company passenger train, scheduled for Monday morning, has been suspended.

The fire along the Nipissis River is currently under observation. As soon as a fire gets more intense, there are certain interventions that are difficult to do, because it becomes difficult to water without the water evaporating before reaching the fire.explains Isabelle Gariépy, SOPFEU communications officer.

She specifies that the fire is very far away, in the forest sector, and does not threaten any facilities for the moment.

” If he approaches, we will have to find other ways to intervene, but we will continue to intervene as best we can. »

The flammability indices are extreme on the North Shore, in particular because of the record heat and the winds blowing in the region. What we have on the ground, it’s drysays Isabelle Gariépy. As soon as the sun appears and it gets warmer, we automatically fall into fairly high flammability indices.

For its part, Hydro-Québec is on standby for certain power transmission lines that are located near forest fires. However, the state corporation specifies that the height of the lines and the width of the cleared corridors are generally sufficient to protect its facilities.

There SOPFEU also reports two one-hectare fires in the Sept-Îles region. These two fires are under control, according to the SOPFEU. A third, southwest of Baie-Comeau, is considered content.

The warm weather forecast for this week is also forcing the Quebec government to ban open fires in the forest. The ban affects most regions of Quebec, including the North Shore.

It is the dry weather forecast for the next few days that increases the risk of forest fires. There SOPFEU currently counts ten forest fires in the province.

With information from Charles-Étienne Drouin