Quebec’s Port-Cartier maximum security prison evacuated as wildfire burns

Authorities say wildfires burning in Quebec have forced the evacuation of inmates from a maximum security prison, as favorable winds bolstered efforts to battle a pair of out-of-control blazes north of the city of Port-Cartier. Correctional Service Canada said the evacuation order was issued Friday and inmates have since been moved to other secure federal correctional facilities. The Port-Cartier Institution has been associated with a number of notorious criminals, including serial killer Robert Pickton, who died in late May after being assaulted at the prison by another inmate. Officials with the city in the Côte-Nord region announced Friday that it had declared a state of emergency.