According to Pontiac Public Safety Coordinator Julien Gagnon, of the five fires burning in the Pontiac last week, two have been extinguished and three are listed as “under control.”

“From what we’re understanding, it seems like all the fires are either fully extinguished or at least contained. So there’s no active fires out of control right now, which is definitely really good,” said Gagnon.

Gagnon says approximately 845 hectares of bush have been lost to fires in the Pontiac, but cautions that these are just preliminary numbers based on SOPFEU estimations.

According to Gagnon, the fires in the Pontiac are all being fought with the use of “water bombers”, large planes used to drop water on remote, hard to access fires.

“There were definitely no fire fighters on the ground in our MRC,” said Gagnon, explaining that SOPFEU personnel were being stationed at larger fires elsewhere in Quebec.

“We’re getting rain here in the municipality, and that plays a major factor in helping to put these fires out,” Gagnon said.

Bryson Lake Lodge

Owner and operator of Bryson Lake Lodge Laurel LeBrun said that the fires are hindering the lodge’s ability to operate.

A hunting and fishing outfitter between ZEC Saint-Patrice and ZEC Pontiac, LeBrun and her staff have stayed on site to protect the business.

“It feels like a COVID pandemic situation all over again, with unknowns. But as a business move, we will likely be reimbursing those that asked for reimbursements and rescheduling those and pushing their bookings maybe until next year if they can do it,” said Lebrun in a conversation with THE EQUITY on June 7.

“So we’re just praying for some good rains that don’t wash out any roads but enough to just soak it down and just protect us,” LeBrun said.

Climate Change

MRC Warden Jane Toller credits the work of SOPFEU and emergency workers in addressing the fire situation. Toller went on to connect the regional forest fires with the broader issue of climate change.

“I think that we are living with climate change and I don’t really understand people who refuse to acknowledge that,” Toller said. “When you hear forestry people say that fires in the Pontiac are ‘unprecedented’ I think it’s a sign of things to come.”

“I think that we have to understand that when we have torrential rainfalls, ice storms, flooding and now fires, we need to learn to live with these new conditions and we need to do whatever possible to lessen their impact,” said Toller, referring to the slew of extreme weather conditions seen throughout the Pontiac during recent months.

“We need to exercise all caution and to be extremely careful,” Toller said. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

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