“We will not be caught off guard”: Oujé-Bougoumou ready for forest fires | Forest fires in Canada

Last summer, the population of Oujé-Bougoumou, in northern Quebec, was among the most affected by the fires, which burned 4.3 million hectares of forest in the province.

At the beginning of June, the First Nation had to be urgently evacuated due to the approach of two huge fires. An episode which consolidated solidarity within the Cree community – and from which its members were able to learn lessons.

While the Eeyou Istchee region is experiencing a month of June that is miles away from the one it had to face in 2023, Chief Gaston Cooper, elected in August at the end of a record fire season, looks back on the path traveled .

Last year, around thirty communities were subject to an evacuation order, including several in Eeyou Istchee. What happened in your case on June 6, 2023?

We were in the middle of an assembly when our leader at the time, Curtis Bosum, arrived to tell us that we had less than an hour to evacuate the premises. Even though we knew there was a risk of this happening, everyone was in shock to receive such short notice.

The fire was very close to our community; we could smell the smoke. Leaving the room, we found ourselves faced with a vision that surprised us all: it was snowing ash on Oujé-Bougoumou.

It was like a blow that forced us to activate, everyone got to work.

With my wife and children, we had already prepared our bags for a hasty departure. So we quickly jumped on the bus that would take us all to Chicoutimi, 400 km away, where a shelter had been set up in the CEGEP. We stopped along the way to pick up those who wanted to come on board. Others decided to take their car.

Because we were evacuating at the same time as the residents of Chibougamau [à une soixantaine de kilomètres plus à l’est], the traffic was very heavy. There must have been a hundred vehicles in front of us. It was the first time I saw so many people on the road.

People were having trouble refueling, gasoline was disappearing at full speed. It was chaos.

Did people choose to stay?

More than 800 people left Oujé-Bougoumou that day, but around twenty people wanted to stay. They felt it was their duty to protect their property. In the end, it was a good thing for us, because that way we knew what was going on at home.

We received regular news – one day the smoke was thicker; the next day she was less so; the following night it became very present again, etc. – because everything was changing very quickly. Even though we were far away, in Chicoutimi, we knew that the fire was getting closer.

Many people in our community were very anxious when they arrived in Lac-Saint-Jean, they worried about whether they would find what they had left behind.

The authorities also informed us every day of what was happening on the ground, of the areas that had been ravaged by the flames. It was reassuring to have this follow-up.

You were able to return to Oujé-Bougoumou almost a week later, once the evacuation order was lifted. Back home, what did you notice when you arrived?

It seemed a long time before we could return. You know, everyone was impatient to get back, to see the state of the houses – and the trap lines too.

Many Crees still practice their traditional way of life. Deep in the forest, they have hunting camps with traps. Equipment too, including engines, boats and snowmobiles. We wanted to check as quickly as possible if everything was intact.

What struck me, above all, was the welcome we were given. The firefighters stood at the entrance to Oujé to welcome everyone. For me, this demonstrates all the solidarity and unity that the community has shown during this period.

Luckily, almost everything was saved. Some community members saw damage to their hunting camps, with three losing everything. But it could have been much worse, when compared with other Cree communities in northern Quebec, such as Eastmain and Wemindji, which suffered heavy losses.

Was this the first time you were forced to evacuate?

For Oujé-Bougoumou, yes. But in the past, we have already been at risk of having to evacuate. A few years ago, a fire threatened us, but the weather was on our side and it started to rain.

Personally, it’s not my first time. A long time ago – I must have been just 17 years old – I was in Waswanipi. With other members of the community, we went to work in the field. When we returned, everyone was gone! The police told us that residents were forced to evacuate.

With our work clothes on our backs, we had to go to Lebel-sur-Quévillon. We had nothing with us and had to spend almost two weeks there.

You know, even though I had experienced it before and knew what it was like to be evacuated, that feeling came back to me in June 2023.

This anticipation, this feeling of knowing in advance what awaits us, this concern for our loved ones, for our community. It doesn’t go away; it’s still there.

What are the days like after having to leave everything behind, even if the worst was avoided?

We learn to appreciate what is around us. This manifest generosity, this desire to help each other: I saw it within our community, but also among those who helped us in Lac-Saint-Jean. We were well received, we were taken care of. Some needed their medication and they had no problem getting their prescriptions.

As soon as we returned to Oujé, the discussion arose: what if all this happened again in the future?

We have always been told that global warming is real, that climate change is real, and that things will no longer be the same. We have known for a long time that we must prepare for these disasters that could be more serious in the future, including a new forest fire.

This thought stuck in our minds and fueled our discussions. We decided to be very careful and anticipate what needed to be done to better protect against these events.

What did you do differently after the 2023 season?

Since the fall, we have conducted awareness campaigns to ensure our members are better prepared. We received funding to help our families cope with further fires.

A prevention program has been put in place to support hunters and trappers who live off the land and who wish to better protect their hunting camps. We are talking, among other things, about cutting down, for example, brush and felling trees too close to the cabin which risk catching fire, or even providing a route to evacuate in the event of a fire.

We also provided information to our community on the types of materials that are known to be more heat resistant, and which could be used at home or in hunting camps.

It was also important to make sure everyone had fire extinguishers and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Spaces have also been set up to accommodate those who do not have appropriate ventilation, if necessary.

We even ask people to use large barrels to collect rainwater and make them easily accessible so they can be used if there is a fire to put out.

Requests have been made to the government and SOPFEU so that we can also train forest firefighters from the community.

In an emergency situation, care must be taken to ensure that information is transmitted quickly and accurately. This is why we held meetings with partners to ensure that our strategy was effective and that everything went as planned.

My priority as chief – and that of the band council – is to ensure that the safety of our community comes first. Last year we were caught off guard, but this time we won’t be.

The remarks have been edited for brevity.