It was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip for some Waswanipi trappers.
Suddenly, lightning hit a stand of trees just outside town. It didn’t take long for the dry trees to light up into a blaze, just a few kilometres away from the community’s new sawmill!
To make matters worse, another forest fire was raging not far away. And the wind was blowing both fires ever-closer to the sawmill. There was no time to lose.
Air power was called in. As water-bombers pounded the fire from above, the would-be fishers and volunteers from Waswanipi moved in with water pumps. When the fires were put out, they were six kilometres away from the sawmill.
A close brush with disaster just days before the grand opening of the sawmill, to be attended by Premier Lucien Bouchard.
“People were nervous,” said Paul Dixon, one of the first trapper/firefighters on the scene.
Dozens of fires blazed across Iiyiyuuschii last week, 95 per cent caused by lightning. The largest was in the Nemaska area and came within 20 to 25 km of the community. It wasn’t considered a threat because it was South-East of town and NW winds were pushing it further away. Rain also tamed the fire a little.
Forest fires this year have been worse than average. Since April, 82 forest fires have been reported this year in the southern half of James Bay. About 6,500 hectares of forest were destroyed. Last year in the same period, 48 fires destroyed 4,036 hectares. The average in the last five years is 52 fires and 1,419 hectares.
Dozens of fires fanned by high winds prompted the Resources Ministry to issue an alert on Tuesday afternoon, June 10.
Forestry operations and travel on logging roads were prohibited until further notice in an area stretching from Desmaraisville to Chibougamau, up to Lac Albanel, over to the 51th parallel and back to the Ontario border.
Highways remain open unless the situation deteriorates.
Reports are coming in that several Cree bush camps were destroyed by fire, including one near Ouje-Bougoumou and one near Matagami. No one was hurt since most Crees are in their communities following goose break.
Over in Waswanipi, the community again looked disaster in the face just one day after the close call at the sawmill.
A massive new forest fire had gotten underway, this time to the west of the community, and it was headed right for town!
Paul, our roving forest fire correspondent, got a close-up look at the blaze and reported seeing a wall of flames shooting 200 feet into the air. The fire was 10 km long and 4 km wide.
A thick canopy of black smoke hung high over Waswanipi on Tuesday. The community was put on alert and evacuation plans were readied for 200 people with asthma and those who would accompany them (many are children).
The fire was 20 km away when the wind miraculously shifted and it started heading south. A second close call. The blaze would bypass Waswanipi by about 15 km.
