Rain, cooler weather helping to contain wildfire burning on Vancouver Island
The roughly 538-hectare Wesley Ridge fire has forced those living in almost 390 homes in the Regional District of Nanaimo to flee. Another 250 properties are on evacuation alert, meaning they must be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said crews made good progress on Tuesday in improving the containment of the blaze, guarding it from spreading to nearby homes and the Highway 4 corridor, which connects the island's east and west coasts.
The wildfire service said light rain fell on the fire Tuesday, allowing firefighters to "expand containment," and night-vision helicopters were set to work the fire's perimeter overnight.
Officials said fire behaviour has been limited to "a low-vigour surface fire," but some spots have seen a higher burning intensity.
There are about 130 active wildfires burning across B.C. as of Wednesday morning, driven largely by hot and dry weather and tens of thousands of lightning strikes.
Some residents have expressed concern that the Wesley Ridge fire could reach Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Park, a nearby temperate rainforest containing trees that have stood for 800 years, but the wildfire service says it is not under threat.
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