Evacuees welcomed in neighbouring Innu community following Quebec wildfires

Residents of Uashat mak Mani-utenam got off yellow school buses carrying backpacks and roller bags full of belongings as they were welcomed in Pessamit, another Innu community about 300 km to the west.

Green cots were set up inside an arena with blankets and pillows for the hundreds of residents who do not have a place to stay after the evacuation in Mani-Utenam due to wildfires burning across Quebec.

On Friday, Chief of Mani-Utenam, Mike Pelash Mckenzie, held a news conference to declare a local state of emergency in his community. He announced they were evacuating the community of 1,500 people before 7 p.m.

He said Pessamit "generously agreed to support us in this difficult time."

Before leaving Mani-Utenam, Lise Michel saw the fire encroaching on her community.

An employee at the local senior's home, she says ash was falling from the sky as she helped transport seniors to the CLSC in Pessamit — where they will be staying during the evacuation.

"They called me this morning to help transport some of our elderly. I was on vacation for one week, but I told them 'okay, I will go,' so I packed my bag and left right away," said Michel.

'It's important to lend a helping hand'

Following the evacuations, Julie Picard, a volunteer in Pessamit, welcomed people on Friday.

"I'm welcoming them with a smile … It's important to lend a helping hand because they helped us when we had to be evacuated in 1991," said Picard, referring to the year Pessemit residents stayed in Mani-Utenam for two weeks due to a fire in their community.

"Among us Innu, we are very much a community, even if we come from Sept-Îles or Pessamit, we are still a community… It's a value that is very important for us."

Christian Rock, communication coordinator for Conseil des Innus de Pessamit, says the first bus left Mani-Utenam at 2 p.m. on Friday. He says the Red Cross provided 300 beds.

For now, he's unsure how long the evacuation order will be in place.

"It will depend on how the fire evolves. It could be one week, it could be two weeks," said Rock.

Sept-Îles evacuations force 10,000 out

In Sept-Îles on Quebec's North Shore, a major fire prompted 10,000 people from the area to leave their homes. Authorities were concerned the fire could merge with smaller ones nearby and continue to grow in size and strength.

Saturday, the city said the fire didn't gain much ground overnight, but that officials are still on alert and watching the situation closely. It is expecting 200 Canadian Armed Forces soldiers to arrive Sunday as reinforcements.

The sectors of Lac-Daigle, des Plages, Moisie and Maliotenam all received evacuation orders in addition to Mani-Utenam.

As of Saturday evening, the SOPFEU website lists 139 active fires across the province and over 182,000 affected hectares.