DUPY | Not wanting to stand by and watch the fires spread, one forest contractor dug a wide trench last week in hopes of protecting his home and those of his neighbors.
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“I said to myself: This is where it will stop. It’s not true that I walk through fire,” says Nicolas Racicot, who lives in the north of the municipality of Dupuy in Abitibi.
This small town of around 940 inhabitants is located between La Sarre and Normétal. For a week, the fires in the area have been spreading at an alarming rate. Note that on Sunday authorities said the progress of the fire just outside Normal had finally been halted.
But at that point on June 7, in order to get a clear view of the inventory, Nicolas Racicot, owner of the company Forêts Élites Exploits, went with his nephew Gabriel Rousseau near a fire that appeared to be moving southwest.
Video provided by Gabriel Rousseau
Gabriel Rousseau, who was accompanying forest contractor Nicolas Racicot, took these pictures on June 7, several kilometers north of the town of Dupuy in the Norman Valley.
Impressive
A short video taken during their visit shows the intensity of the flames. Among other things, we can see a sky covered by a huge cloud of smoke.
“If you are real [sur place] and that you can hear it, that’s something, says Gabriel Rousseau, meaning the powerful crackling of the fire. We also thought of the firefighters, they are there all the time. It is impressive.”
Convinced of the impending fire danger, Nicolas Racicot encouraged friends to use caterpillars and excavators to level a piece of land not far from his home.
The Journal was also able to accompany the resident of Dupuy to the site of this huge ditch this weekend.
Photo Laurent Lavoie
The Journal accompanied Nicolas Racicot to the site of the dig this weekend.
According to Mr. Racicot’s estimates, it would be 175 meters wide and about 800 meters deep.
As we passed, a little rain fell on the ground that we had been waiting for while fighting the fires. The heavy machinery was still there, as were some felled trees.
Photo Laurent Lavoie
Seeing the alarming progress of the flames, Nicolas Racicot decided to take matters into his own hands.
vigilant
In this context, the 51-year-old forester does not blame himself for felling many trees.
“No regrets, no regrets, he’s fading. Fire cannot feed on earth.”
However, whoever has lived in the area since childhood feels the game is not won, even though the fires are no longer an immediate threat.
“Maybe the fire will pass just like that. We don’t know, it always depends on the wind,” stresses Nicolas Racicot.
The Mayor of Dupuy, Alain Grégoire, emphasizes the “preventive” nature of the contractor and stresses that he has the knowledge and machines necessary to carry out this work.
“There’s a lot of wood in the row he lives in, so I’m sure he wants to protect his abode and woodland as well. I think it’s good that he’s doing it,” he says.
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