Four forest fires are currently raging around a hundred kilometers north of Baie-Comeau, three of which are under control or contained, but the last one is worrying the Society for the Protection of Forests from Fire (SOPFEU).
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This forest fire in the Micoua sector was started by a lightning strike on May 31st and is now out of control. It is one of the seven priority fires that SOPFEU is fighting in Quebec.
So far it has devastated more than 11,000 hectares of forest and it continues to run its course. The hot and dry weather of the last few days has allowed him to regain strength.
Traffic in the forest is still prohibited in the area of the Micoua substation to enable SOPFEU employees to work. On the Hydro Quebec side, logging operations have been going on around the Micoua substation for the past few days to protect the facilities.
The Manic-3 power plant is naturally protected by the river and the fact that it is underground. Nearly 200 people are deployed in the area today to fight the blaze. Among other things, a large fire protection team from the USA is on site to support SOPFEU. It consists of almost 90 people.
We hope that the rain and the cooler weather forecast for the next few days will help slow the spread of the fire. However, SOPFEU reminds that it will take the whole summer for a fire of this magnitude to be completely extinguished.