A raging wildfire that has forced evacuations on south-central Vancouver Island has been burning at some of most severe levels of fire behaviour, a display that is "unusual" for the region, the British Columbia officials said Wednesday.
Karley Desrosiers, an information officer with the service, said there was "aggressive" growth on the fire within a couple hours of its discovery on Monday.
The blaze was reported at about 6:30 p.m. and it had grown to span 600 hectares by the end of that day, she told a briefing on Wednesday.
"That was quite significant and very unusual for not only Vancouver Island … but even elsewhere in the province, that would be considered quite significant."
By Wednesday, the fire had grown to span more than 20 square kilometres, located about 12 kilometres south of Port Alberni on the east side of the Alberni Inlet.
Desrosiers said the blaze was not threatening the communities of Port Alberni, Bamfield or Youbou on Wednesday.
Fire growing more slowly
The fire remained out of control on Thursday morning and measured 2,156 hectares.
A shift in winds and helicopters dumping water on the blaze had helped slow its growth Tuesday, with the most activity on its eastern flank, Desrosiers said.
Wildfire crews were working to remove fuels, establish a hose line and build a guard along the northern flank, which is closest to Port Alberni, she said.
The blaze spurred the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, City of Port Alberni and Tseshaht First Nation to declare states of local emergency.
The regional district ordered the evacuation of an area on the east side of the Alberni Inlet, between Port Alberni and Bamfield, while the Cowichan Valley Regional District issued a separate order for an adjacent area.
Evacuation alerts were also in effect for a Tseshaht reserve and properties at the southwest end of Port Alberni, with residents told to be ready to leave quickly.
B.C.'s Emergency Management Ministry said fewer than 10 homes were affected by the two evacuation orders, while the alerts covered about 200 homes.
Videos posted on social media show the wildfire lighting up a slope and billowing thick plumes of smoke, while helicopters dump water on the flames.
The blaze, about 15 kilometres from the city, initially sent out a “massive plume” of smoke that was visible throughout the city, said Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions.
“We certainly don’t want people to panic,” Minions said. “We do know that there’s no imminent threat to our community right now, although we just know how quickly the situation can change.”
A local state of emergency was issued as a precaution, she said.
The fast initial pace of the fire’s growth shows how aware and prepared people need to be, Minions said, adding that emergency preparedness is a key area of focus for the city.
Heavy smoke prompts air quality warning
Coun. Cindy Solda said the clouds of smoke, the hazy air and the ash settling on the ground are bringing home the reality of the nearby wildfire.
The speed at which the Mount Underwood fire has spread — it had reached 2,156 hectares, over 21 square kilometres, by midday Wednesday — is also a concern, Solda said.
“It’s pretty frightening for a lot of people, especially those who are close to it,” she said.
The heavy smoke is highly visible, with Environment Canada issuing an air quality statement for inland Vancouver Island and from Fanny Bay to Nanoose Bay on the east coast, saying it could persist for a few days.
The Port Alberni Transit System said Wednesday that all service, including HandyDART, has been suspended due to the Mount Underwood fire, in consideration of evacuation alerts and the air-quality advisory in the region. They later clarified that only service in the Cameron Heights neighbourhood was cancelled.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said an initial attack crew, structural protection specialists, an air tanker and helicopters equipped with night-vision technology responded to the fire overnight, and an incident management team is on its way.
An update from the wildfire service earlier Wednesday said the blaze had been displaying rank four and five behaviour on a six-point scale.
"This is a highly vigorous surface fire with torching or passive crown fire and some active crown fire," it said, adding the behaviour was "unusual" for the region.
People asked to avoid travelling to Bamfield
The main road linking Port Alberni and Bamfield is closed and Bamfield has lost power, with the wildfire service telling anyone who doesn’t live there to stay away.
In Bamfield, about 90 kilometres from Port Alberni, supplies are still coming in by boat and the longer road route via Lake Cowichan, said Bamfield resident and regional district director Bob Beckett.
“It’s been very fluid and very impactful for our community,” he said of the fire’s effect. “There’s a challenge with getting things like fuel supplies and propane.”
Residents are working closely with the area’s Huu-ay-aht First Nation, he said.
Beckett said the seaside community of Bamfield has about 250 permanent residents — and up to 2,000 in the summer — and is “very resilient.”
“This is not the first time we’ve lost power for a period of time,” he said. “But it’s so impactful right now because this is the tourism season so the economic impact is going to be huge.”
Beckett, a former Langford fire chief, said residents are grateful to the firefighters battling the blaze and the regional district staff helping the public.
He said the community’s attitude of “neighbour helping neighbour” is also important, with people going out of their way to pick up supplies for others when they travel outside the area via water or road.
“It’s wonderful to see it.”
He said there is a lot more traffic than usual on the longer — and rougher — alternate route via Lake Cowichan.
The Cowichan Regional Emergency Operations Centre issued a notice asking people to limit use of the route to essential travel, and advising them to be prepared for no cell service along the way.
Lady Rose Marine Service, which operates MV Frances Barkley in Alberni Inlet, has reached out to see what it can do to help and perhaps add service, Beckett said.
A staff member at Lady Rose, which operates MV Frances Barkley between Port Alberni and Bamfield, said Tuesday there has been an influx of inquiries for both freight and passengers for the vessel’s upcoming service on Thursday and Saturday.
Anyone who doesn’t have to be in the Bamfield area should stay away for the time being, Beckett said.
The Mount Underwood blaze is burning about 19 kilometres southwest of the Wesley Ridge fire, which had forced the evacuation of several hundred homes on the north side of Cameron Lake, about 60 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo.
Some properties in the Little Qualicum Village area remained under an evacuation order Wednesday.
The Wesley Ridge fire is being held and has not grown beyond 588 hectares for the past several days.
Rain in the forecast
The temperature around Port Alberni is expected to drop to 23 C on Thursday, and there is a possibility of rain Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
With rain and higher humidity in the forecast, Desrosiers said, the Mount Underwood blaze was less likely to show crown fire unless winds pick up substantially.
She attributed the unusually severe fire behaviour to a drought that has gripped Vancouver Island this spring and summer.
"With that absence of rain since May, that has certainly resulted in the aggressive fire behaviour," she said, adding strong winds were also a factor on Monday.
Looking ahead, Desrosiers said there is some rain in the forecast, but crews won't be counting on it to bring the fire under control.
"If we do receive a significant amount of precipitation, it will certainly reduce fire behaviour," she said. "However, due to the drought conditions that we're experiencing on Vancouver Island, it would take a significant amount of rain over a longer period to really penetrate the ground and to extinguish the fire."
The Mount Underwood blaze was B.C.’s only wildfire of note on Wednesday and one of seven classified as burning out of control.
There were about 90 active wildfires in B.C. on Wednesday.
jbell@timescolonist
