Firefighters fighting a forest fire out of control near Port Alberni, BC, say that recent rainfall and colder temperatures have given them a very necessary break, which allows them to extinguish hot points ahead of a warmer climate forecast warmer and drier to later this week.
While the Mount Underwood fire remains measured in 36 square kilometers, Karley DESOSIERS, a fire information officer of the BC Infire Wildfire Service (BCWS) of BC, said the fire has shown a minimum activity in recent days thanks to the favorable conditions.
Now there are 160 personnel who work in the fire, focused mainly on their flanks to the north, northwest and southwest.
“They are working to extinguish the remaining fire at 100 feet from the perimeter of fire to ensure that this fire does not extend beyond the current perimeter,” said Decrosiers during an update on Tuesday.
A fire outside control south of Port Alberni has grown more than 34 square kilometers. The Mount Underwood forest fire was discovered on Monday and doubled in size in 24 hours. BC’s forest fire service describes the fire as aggressive and explosive and says that rapid growth is due to severe drought.
Drosiers said the flames are visible on the surface, but the fire moves slowly. Despite the return of the warm weather this week, he said that no growth is anticipated, although a strong smoke can be visible.
“That is just because we are going to see that some of those fuels are dried and emit more smoke as the fire reaches those areas,” he said.
Environment Canada has again issued a special air quality statement for parts of Vancouver Island, saying that the localized smoke from Mount Underwood can “periodically” affect Port Alberni and other nearby communities.
There are two evacuation orders and three alerts through the Regional District of Alberni-Clayoquot, including the order for the Creek camp and the alert of parts of the Cameron Heights neighborhood at the southern end of the city of Port Alberni.
According to the district, some 200 people have been evacuated from the order areas, including approximately 50 residents and 150 visitors.
The fire has cut access to the remote community of Bamfield, south of Port Alberni, and has eliminated energy to 500 hydroelectric customers in the area since August 11.
The provincial energy supplier said the restoration work includes replacing 56 energy posts and 70 electric line sections, approximately 20 kilometers in total.
In a statement on Tuesday, the public services company said that land teams are making constant progress to restore power to more than 500 clients in Bamfield, the first nation of Huu-Aht and Ditidaht First Nation.
“Since arriving at the site, the equipment has placed 15 new energy posts and have hung 11 stretches of energy line,” said the statement.
BC Hydro estimates that the power will be restored before August 30, and added that some sections of the area, particularly those that cross foresty cliffs and unstable rocks, remain restricted due to security concerns.
The rain during the weekend has helped balance the activity of forest fires in BC, with the number of active fires to approximately 60.
