Chibougamau

Brian Paré, 38, pleaded guilty to lighting 14 fires in the Chibougamau area of Quebec between May and September 2023.

Until the French arrived, several immense fires north of Obedjiwan had been left alone as Quebec’s wildfire agency focused its efforts on the province’s inhabited areas, especially the largest city, Chibougamau.

Several fires are also threatening other nearby indigenous communities, like Chibougamau, which has also been evacuated.

As of Friday, the fires had forced more than 13,500 Canadians from their homes, many of them in the northern municipalities of Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon.

But perhaps most surprised were newcomers to Chibougamau, like Mr. Mabiala, from the Republic of Congo, who came to work in logging.