Vancouver Island wildfire forces hundreds to evacuate, crews work to protect homes, Hwy. 4 – BC

The Wesley Ridge wildfire burning on Vancouver Island is now 511 hectares in size and still burning out of control.

Madison Dahl with the B.C. Wildfire Service said that visibility is limited due to smoky conditions, however, and that the perimeter and size of the fire are likely to change.

“Today (Monday) on the wildfire, we have 164 personnel that includes ground firefighters and structural protection specialists and teams,” she said.

“There are eight pieces of heavy equipment, eight helicopters. We also have land-based air tankers and scammers assigned to the incident. Aviation resources are supporting operations as required. We have over 80 structure protection specialists assigned and responding to this incident.”

Multiple fire departments are also helping tackle the blaze, including the Dashwood and Coombs fire departments.

There are 387 residences on evacuation order due to the Wesley Ridge fire, which includes Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park, the day-use area and campground. There are 235 residences on evacuation alert, according to Christina Crabtree, the emergency operations director for the regional district of Nanaimo.

In addition, Cameron Lake, Horn Lake and Spider Lake are being utilized for water bucketing, Crabtree said.

Little Qualicum River, Arrowsmith CPR Regional Trail and Meadowood Community Park are closed due to the fire.

“We have had many calls asking how (people) can provide support, and we are so grateful with the overwhelming support from the community,” Dahl said.

“The RDN (Regional District of Nanaimo) and fire departments, however, can’t accept and deal with donations of food, clothing and goods at this time. So our suggestion is you may want to look through social media. There’s a whole bunch of options where you can choose to donate and provide support, and we would ask that you go through those channels because we’re not able to be able to accommodate.”

Dahl said one of the biggest priorities is to minimize growth toward Highway 4 and to keep the highway open and traffic moving.

“The southern edge of the wildfire burning along Cameron Lake is burning in very tough and challenging terrain with large amounts of timber and large amounts of fuel available,” she said.

“Structure protection specialists, structure protection teams and crews are in place to protect properties and values situated along Cameron Lake. Aircraft continue to support ground operations, moving crews, dropping water, cooling the fire, and facilitating direct and indirect attack. We are going to continue to see smoke from the Wesley Ridge Wildfire as it consumes fuel and moves along the slope.”

The B.C. government is warning drivers between Parksville and Port Alberni that sudden changes could occur along Highway 4 due to the wildfire.

Traffic-control personnel are posted on Highway 4 at the Port Alberni Summit for eastbound traffic and Chatsworth Road for westbound traffic.

At this time, Highway 4 remains open. Travellers should plan for extra time as any change to highway operation may cause delays. Travellers are not permitted to stop along Highway 4.

The highway, a critical link for Vancouver Island communities, was closed on June 6, 2023, due to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.

With the road closed, coastal communities were left to rely on a treacherous multi-hour detour via an industrial logging road, limiting supplies and starving businesses and tour operators of revenue at a critical time of year.

It was closed for 17 days and cost businesses on the West Coast of the island an estimated $44 million, according to a survey.

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