LA TUQUE, Que. - Some 1,300 evacuees from the Wemotaci reserve near La Tuque, Que., faced their fifth night away from home after fleeing a massive wildfire that's threatening their community.
The 39 hectare fire -- burning about 300 kilometres north of Trois-Rivieres -- is the largest of eight still burning out of control and one of over 50 burning across central Quebec.
The bulk of the evacuees were moved Sunday to an arena in the town in order to free up the school for students returning to their studies Monday.
Fire crews were also evacuated from the area late Sunday due to the strong winds in the area. Smoke from the fires is expected to drift all the way down to Montreal, but with no risk to residents.
Marcel Trudel, a spokesman for the province's forest-firefighting organization, said fire crews have so far been successful in keeping the flames away from the towns.
There are 1,200 firefighters battling the blazes, including some from the U.S. and other provinces.
But Trudel said the dry, windy conditions have been working against fire crews and so far some 83,000 hectares of forest have so far been destroyed by the flames.
"We're working hard but we're still getting more fires," said Melanie Morin from the forest-firefighting organization.
She said for every small fire extinguished, another flares up.
The forecast calls for seven-to-12 millimetres of rain Monday and Tuesday, which Morin said will help reduce the intensity of the flames.
The Red Cross is offering emergency shelter and services to three Quebec communities that were evacuated this week.
The rest of evacuees, from Obedjiwan, Manawan and Parent, left their homes voluntarily due to the dense smoke.
