pointe a la croix

Nelson Sergerie, LJI

POINTE-À-LA-CROIX – A brush fire of an intensity not seen in over 20 years ravaged 50.3 hectares in Pointe-à-la-Croix on May 14. 

The Société de Protection des Forêts contre le Feu (SOPFEU) declared the fire under control the following morning, and authorities susThe alert was given mid-afternoon on May 14. Pointe-à-la-Croix firefighters called SOPFEU for assistance because the blaze was near residences and, fueled by the hot and windy weather, the fire was heading toward the forest. 

At the peak of the effort to contain the fire, dozens of firefighters were deployed, supported by a helicopter, and two water bombers. “This is something we have to deal with every year. It’s becoming a concern. The fire moved closer to the residences,” noted Mayor Pascal Bujold. 

Several small fires have been started in Pointe-à-la-Croix in past years. “It’s definitely criminal. It’s always individuals who start fires. We denounce it. We’ve never been able to catch the people, but this time, we hope it will be different,” says the mayor. 

This is the largest fire to occur in the Gaspé Peninsula in over 20 years. The last fire of this magnitude was in 2004, when 59 hectares burnt in the Rocher-Percé MRC. Overall, the largest fire to occur in the Gaspé Peninsula was in 1995, when 23,105 hectares burned following a forestry operation, an area equivalent to half the size of the island of Montreal. 

In the last ten years, the average area burned annually in the Gaspé Peninsula has been around 16 hectares.