The municipality of Normal in Abitibi-Témiscamingue reached priority level 1 for SOPFEU on Sunday.
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In addition, a state of emergency has been declared and citizens must be evacuated.
“The situation is more critical in this sector. As we reiterate, we protect communities. So it is a case in point of a community that absolutely needs to be protected,” SOPFEU Prevention and Communications Coordinator Stéphane Caron told LCN.
According to the latest news, the flames had come within two miles of Normal. SOPFEU fears that the population is no longer safe.
“We cannot promise anything in the situation we find ourselves in,” announces Mr. Caron.
“We are doing everything we can to prevent the community from being affected, but at the same time these are forest fires, they are a force of nature and the fight is not always easy,” he adds.
While the situation in Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Val-d’Or seems less critical, SOPFEU does not intend to transfer the teams based in these two cities to Normétal.
“We’re not necessarily going to strip one region to dress another,” asserts Stéphane Caron.
Instead, SOPFEU intends to manage its air tankers and deploy new resources to fight the forest fire threatening Normetal.
To see the full interview, watch the video above.