Within hours of it being first spotted, a forest fire on a slope near the China Creek Campground and Marina quickly grew to 630 hectares, forcing the evacuation of the site and the closure of the road to Bamfield.
By Tuesday morning the estimated size of the Mount Underwood fire was 859 hectares, according to an update from the B.C. Wildfire Service.
“It’s hot, it’s dry, we have a lot of resources on it today,” said Christi Howes, a fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre.
The Mount Underwood fire was first reported shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 11, as an enormous plume of smoke emerged south of Port Alberni. The blaze grew on the slope directly east of China Creek, 12 kilometres south of Port Alberni and 19 kilometres southwest of another forest fire that has burned at Cameron Lake since July 31. Within four hours Mount Underwood was reported to be 630 hectares, already larger than the nearby Wesley Ridge fire at Cameron Lake. A photo taken from the Frances Barkley ship on the Alberni Inlet early Tuesday morning shows that the fire spread down the slope to the south, still not overtaking the nearby marina at the shore.
So far the B.C. Wildfire Service has sent over 60 personnel to the blaze, including a three-to-four person initial attack crew and three 20-person unit crews. Four helicopters, an air tanker and a heavy equipment task force have been employed. Crews from the Alberni Valley’s fire departments also rushed to the scene to help contain the wildfire and protect the China Creek facility.
“Night vision-equipped helicopters are actioning the fire overnight and structural protection specialists are on scene,” stated the wildfire service on the evening that Mount Underwood was first discovered.
The China Creek Campground and Marina has been evacuated, but no orders or alerts have been issued for Port Alberni.
“A 24-hour reception centre was set up last night at the Alberni Athletic Hall and campers from the China Creek Campground were invited to camp overnight at the Fall Fair grounds,” stated an update from the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District.
Howes said that Mount Underwood currently poses “no threat” to Port Alberni or Bamfield.
The blaze broke out after a day that saw the temperature in the Alberni Valley rise to 35 C, exacerbating the already dry conditions. The incident emerged less than two weeks after the Wesley Ridge wildfire affected the slope on the north shore of Cameron Lake, drawing the attention of as much as 200 wildfire personnel over the August long weekend. That blaze is now considered “being held”. Another smaller forest fire sparked on Nahmint Mountain June 8, growing to less than 20 hectares south of Sproat Lake.
Howes said that the wildfire service is using different personnel for Mount Underwood blaze.
“We have separate crews on this fire and Wesley Ridge remains adequately resourced,” she said.
As crews fight to get a handle on Mount Underwood, the nearby Bamfield Main road has been closed, cutting off access between Port Alberni and the communities of Bamfield, Anacla and Nitinaht. Electricity has also been affected in the Barkley Sound communities.
“The power is out in the Bamfield and Anacla areas, and it is expected that the outage will last at least 72 hours,” stated an update from the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. “Visitors to the area should take this outage into consideration and residents should prepare for an extended power outage.”
An update from the Huu-ay-aht First Nations cautions members that the outage could exceed three days.
“The House of Huu-ay-aht generator is currently operational and will be opened later today, Tuesday, August 12, as a cooling center for community use,” stated the First Nation. “Adjusted hours for the gas bar will be communicated to citizens once they are confirmed.”
