Firefighters tackling a wildfire on Vancouver Island say there was minimal growth overnight on Tuesday, and they hope to use cooler conditions to fight the fire head-on.
The Wesley Ridge fire remained at 511 hectares in size on Tuesday afternoon, fire information officer Madison Dahl told a news conference on Tuesday, adding light showers were possible.
“We are taking advantage of the cooler conditions to strategically action the wildfire while it is cooler,” Dahl said. “While we are expecting rain, we are in a significant drought.”
The blaze was discovered Thursday, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS), and is burning on the north banks of Cameron Lake, about 50 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo, B.C. Dahl said that, overnight, firefighters on the blaze encountered a smouldering ground fire with no open flame.
On Monday, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) expanded an evacuation alert to include 15 properties, adding to an existing alert covering 235 properties, according to Douglas Holmes, the RDN’s chief administrative officer. The alert means residents are expected to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
There are still 387 properties affected by an evacuation order, which requires residents to leave immediately, Holmes said.
Officials say more than 500 evacuees have received support from the province’s emergency support services either in-person or online.
Holmes said the district hasn’t been able to do a full evaluation of damage, but there have been no reports of residences lost.
The official added that BCWS and the regional district are working closely together to ensure conditions are safe enough to allow people to return to their homes.
A total of 204 firefighting personnel are responding to the fire, including firefighters, tree fallers and structure protection teams, according to Dahl.
Multiple fire departments, including those from Dashwood and Coombs, are responding. Seven helicopters are assigned to the incident.
Rain is in the forecast, but conditions are very dry.
Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Park, one of the most significant examples of Douglas fir old-growth forest on the southwest side of Cameron Lake, is not threatened by the Wesley Ridge wildfire, according to Dahl.
Rory Colwell, fire behaviour analyst with BCWS, said in a communications video Monday that the area shows evidence of drought.
He said the “build-up index” of fuels that are available to burn is about 150 per cent of what would be normal at this time of year.
“You can see how dry and crunchy the ground is,” Colwell said. “Some of the logs … are showing as low as 10 or 12 per cent moisture content — and kiln-dry lumber is about eight per cent.”
“We’re getting full consumption of this, and it’s causing the fuels and the fire to spread in areas and in ways that we wouldn’t normally see.”
Colwell said “significant rains” are needed to penetrate the ground and affect fire spread.
Dahl said Monday BCWS aircraft need space to safely and quickly collect water to fight the fire, and asked boaters to respect that.
“If there are aircraft nearby, move to the shore. Stay out of their way,” she said.
Smoke from the wildfire is expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility around the central east of Vancouver Island, according to the Government of Canada’s weather information webpage.
The Wesley Ridge fire is suspected to be human-caused, a categorization given to any wildfire not sparked by lightning.
The BCWS expects cooler temperatures and scattered showers for much of the province over the next two days, according to its online provincial situation report.
“While the downturn in weather is assisting our response efforts, new lightning-caused wildfire starts are expected from the nearly 70,000 strikes received over the past week.”
The Central Okanagan, including Kelowna, is under a severe thunderstorm watch, according to Environment Canada.
More than 130 wildfires are burning across B.C.
