Officials are urging boaters to stay off lakes near a raging wildfire on Vancouver Island that has prompted evacuation orders for people on hundreds of properties.
The Wesley Ridge wildfire has grown to an estimated 389 hectares, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and is among nearly 150 wildfires burning around the province. It is suspected to have been caused by human activity.
At a news conference on Sunday, fire information officer Madison Dahl said 142 personnel were responding to the fire on the north banks of Cameron Lake, about 50 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo. That city, with a population of about 120,000, is about 90 kilometres northwest of Victoria.
The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) said 393 mostly residential properties are under evacuation order, which means residents are required to leave immediately.
Another 238 properties are under evacuation alert, meaning residents need to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
A post on B.C. Parks’ website said an evacuation order was in place for all of Little Qualicum Falls Park, which has two campgrounds, trails and picnic facilities.
Douglas Holmes, director of the emergency operations centre for the RDN, is urging boaters to stay off Cameron, Spider and Horne lakes.
Those lakes near the Wesley Ridge blaze are being used by helicopters and firefighting aircraft to refill with water, according to officials.
“Any interaction between those aircraft and a personal watercraft … at best, will delay the fire response, and at worst, will be a very difficult and dangerous interaction that we really, really must avoid,” he said at the news conference.
“So please, please use common sense in this regard.”
Highway 4, the longest east-west vehicle route on the island remains open, but officials are urging everyone using the road not to stop and look at the fire.
Dahl said the fire along Cameron Lake was burning in inaccessible and challenging terrain “with large amounts of available timber.”
“It is going to continue to produce smoke as the fire consumes fuels along the slope,” she said.
The region is expected to get cooler in the next few days, but the area is in a period of drought, Dahl said. There might be some rain on Wednesday, but a significant amount would be needed to make a difference in the fire.
