Canyon Fire: Authorities downgrade evacuation orders to warnings as containment increases
The Canyon Fire was reported around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 7 in the 6700 block of Holser Canyon Road, near Piru and the Ventura and Los Angeles county line. Flames quickly threatened ranches and other properties in the rural area, prompting evacuations as hundreds of firefighters responded.
The fire had burned nearly 5,400 acres as of Friday afternoon and containment had reached 28%.
The neighboring counties were in unified command of the incident as the blaze grew quickly. Cooler conditions on the first night allowed firefighters to start building a line around the blaze, authorities said. Those lines held as temperatures heated up again Friday, said Andrew Dowd, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.
"We did have some spots that flared up throughout the day," he said. "Overall, great progress on continuing to knock down this blaze."
A few firefighters had minor injuries, officials said, and two structures, likely outbuildings, were reportedly destroyed. There were no reports of residential losses, but Dowd said a team would be continuing to assess damage.
Canyon Fire burns into LA County
On Day 1, the fire grew to more than 1,000 acres within the first few hours, burning away from the town of Piru and toward Los Angeles County. Temperatures soared to 100 degrees as firefighters worked in the steep, rugged terrain.
Multiple helicopters and air tankers dropped water and retardant, trying to protect properties and box in the blaze, which was spotting out in front of itself, officials said. By late in the day, flames were burning in both counties, but the head of the fire had moved into Hasley Canyon in Los Angeles County.
Overnight, authorities reported firefighters made progress as conditions turned cooler. But the fire continued to grow, from 4,800 acres late Thursday to nearly 5,400 Friday afternoon. Containment, however, also increased.
Firefighters will continue to patrol, battle any flare-ups and protect structures in the area, Dowd said late Friday.
"This fire is not over yet," he said. "We're going to remain vigilant."
Authorities downgrade evacuation orders
Thousands were under evacuation orders in Ventura and Los Angeles counties as the fire grew. Locally, the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services downgraded evacuation orders to warnings late Friday. A warning means people should be prepared to leave, but the threat is not yet imminent.
"Residents are strongly urged to follow official instructions, stay informed through trusted emergency channels, and evacuate immediately when directed," OES officials said, in an online update.
The evacuation warnings included areas east of Piru Canyon Road to the Los Angeles County line and east of Center Street and Highway 126 to the Los Angeles County line. The Lake Piru Recreation Area also was under an evacuation warning.
A previous evacuation warning in place for areas northwest and northeast of the lake was lifted. A map of evacuation zones was available at vcemergency.com.
Authorities warn of unhealthy air quality
The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District issued an air quality alert because of unhealthy conditions caused by the Canyon Fire. Smoke and ash from wildfires contain very small particles that can harm the lungs and heart, and Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula and neighboring communities could be affected, officials said.
Conditions deteriorated overnight Thursday into Friday when winds switched direction toward Ventura County, according to the district. By Friday afternoon, onshore winds returned and were expected to help conditions improve locally.
Smoke from the Gifford Fire, which has burned more than 100,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, also was expected to continue to affect air quality in parts of the county.
For more information and a map of Ventura County evacuation areas, visit vcemergency.com. To sign up for local emergency alerts, go to readyventuracounty.org/vc-alert.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Canyon Fire: Here's the latest on evacuations and containment
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wildfire near Port Alberni, B.C., triggers evacuations, road closure
PORT ALBERNI — The rapidly growing wildfire on Vancouver Island near Port Alberni, B.C., has reached 13.9 square kilometres in size, almost triple what was reported when the fire was first reported late Monday. The Mount Underwood wildfire is now classified as a fire-of-note and has cut off the main road access to a community 90 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni in addition to forcing an evacuation of a local campground. BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Christi Howes said Tuesday that the blaze has forced the closure of the highway between Port Alberni and Bamfield. Howes said the Bamfield is without power and operating with limited services, and people should avoid travelling there by other means of transportation. "We don't want to add any additional pressures to the community by having extra people trying to get there either by road or by trail," she said. Bamfield is a popular tourist destination for sport fishing and for those hiking the West Coast Trail. The fire triggered an evacuation order for an area that includes the China Creek Campground and Marina, which has 250 tent and RV campsites and is about 15 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni. Ladysmith, B.C., resident Chelsea Fitzel was camping with her family at China Creek Monday when they were told to leave. "We lost power at China Creek campground around 6:30 p.m. as we were getting ready for dinner," Fitzel said in a text message response. "Shortly after, the China Creek campground staff drove around on their golf carts with loud speakers saying, 'The campsite is being evacuated — leave your boats, leave your trailers, get in your vehicles and go.'" Fitzel, who was scheduled to stay at the campground until Aug. 18, said her husband was able to return to the marina at China Creek by boat from Port Alberni to retrieve their own vessel, and police told them Tuesday they could briefly return to the campground to get their trailer. Meanwhile, Emergency Management Cowichan issued an evacuation alert on Tuesday for five properties in addresses in Electoral Area F. The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District said Tuesday that an evacuation order has also been issued for about 300 properties in the sparsely populated area. Regional District Chairperson and Huu-ay-aht First Nations Chief-Councillor John Jack said in an update posted on Facebook that there is still road access to Bamfield through rural roads, but it should not be considered "a major thoroughfare for public to go as they like." Jack added that the power in Bamfield will likely be out for at least 72 hours if not longer, and people currently camping near the community can choose whether to leave but the trip will likely take longer than usual. "Take care of each other," Jack said in the message to people in the affected areas. "Check in with one another. The West Coast is resilient. I know that this is nothing new for a lot of our people, but there's empathy out there and people need to take care of one another. "How we're feeling is going to be just as important as what we're doing, and so that kind of work is important as well." Howes said crews had been working on fire protection for buildings, including at private campgrounds and at forestry mills and log-sorting facilities in the area. She said the fire is displaying behaviour up to a rank-5 intensity, which means an "extremely vigorous surface fire or active crown fire" with limited options available to fight the burning directly. The cause of the fire has not been determined. The wildfire service said in an earlier update that an attack crew and several firefighting aircraft have been mobilized to fight the fast-growing blaze, and structural protection specialists are also on site. Howes said three additional units arrived Tuesday, while an incident management team was en route and will take over command of the situation by Thursday. She said the fire is not affecting the resources available to fight another nearby fire, the Wesley Ridge blaze burning near Cameron Lake that had triggered evacuations for hundreds of homes last week. Howes said firefighters are anticipating cooler weather and some rain in the area later this week, but the situation remains dynamic and crews will be watching the weather "very closely." The Regional District of Nanaimo partially downgraded evacuation orders and alerts prompted by the Wesley Ridge fire Tuesday at 5 p.m. It lifted evacuation alerts for nearly 350 properties. Another 268 remained on alert and 35 properties remained on evacuation order. There are about 96 wildfires burning across B.C., eight of which are classified as out-of-control. The Wildfire Service said Tuesday that temperatures are well above seasonal from the coast to the Rockies in southern B.C., and while cooler air is expected to move in from the north, it will remain hot and dry in the south before a new system brings rain to the area by Friday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Explosive' wildfire growth near Port Alberni, B.C., unusual for Vancouver Island: wildfire service
Rain is expected to fall on an out-of-control wildfire on Vancouver Island on Friday, but wildfire crews are focusing their efforts on the edge closest to the community of Port Alberni, B.C., as winds push the fire in that direction. The Mount Underwood fire jumped to 21.56 square kilometres (2,156 hectares) Wednesday morning, and is burning more than 10 kilometres south of Port Alberni, a small city home to about 19,000 people. The fire, which is roughly the same size as the City of Victoria, has prompted the city, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) and Tseshaht First Nation to declare states of local emergency. More than 500 properties in the Bamfield and Anacla areas are still without power due to the blaze, according to B.C. Hydro's outage list. Those properties haven't had power since around 6 p.m. PT on Monday. The ACRD has said the power is expected to be out for longer than 72 hours. Evacuation orders have been issued by the ACRD and Cowichan Valley Regional District for around 55 properties in total, a mix of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational properties. WATCH | Vancouver Island wildfire grows rapidly: The fire rapidly expanded Tuesday, ballooning from about 6.3 square kilometres Monday night to almost 14.5 square kilometres Tuesday night, before growing again Wednesday. ACRD chair and Huu-ay-aht First Nations Chief Coun. John Jack said the quick growth of the fire is concerning. "This is a fire that hasn't really been seen on Vancouver Island," he told CBC's On the Island Wednesday morning. Three evacuation alerts are also in effect, issued by the ACRD, the City of Port Alberni for the Cameron Heights neighbourhood, and the Tseshaht First Nation. The alerts, which require residents to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, cover almost 200 affected properties. Jack stressed that those under evacuation alert should have a plan for where to stay, where to keep pets and what to do for medications, especially if they need refrigeration. In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, fire information office Karley Desrosiers said that forecasters were predicting rain on Friday, but it likely wouldn't immediately extinguish the blaze. "As we've experienced over much of the summer, the forecast often over-predicts the amount of rain that we receive," she told reporters. "Due to the drought conditions that we're experiencing ... on Vancouver Island, it would take a significant amount of rain over a longer period to really penetrate and extinguish the fire that is going to be burning deep in the ground." Desrosiers said firefighters didn't see rapid growth overnight into Wednesday, as they had on Monday when the fire was first started. It is suspected to have been sparked by human activity, and she said that firefighters were focusing on the northwest flank of the blaze, closest to Port Alberni. "Today, we've seen a shift in the wind. So the wind is pushing from the south towards the north, which is why crews are focused heavily on that northern flank," she said.'Unprecedented' dry conditions Julia Caranci, another fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, said Tuesday this "extreme" fire behaviour is unusual for Vancouver Island. "We are in the midst of a severe drought," she said at a news conference on Tuesday. She noted strong winds had pushed the fire "aggressively" uphill. "In the seven years I've worked for the Coastal Fire Centre, I don't think I've seen a fire like this on Vancouver Island," Caranci said. She said the "unprecedented" dry conditions, combined with the strong winds, hot weather and steep, rugged terrain, came together to contribute to the fire's growth. "When the temperature is rising and the relative humidity falls, and we have strong winds pushing on a new incident, we can see that explosive type of growth," Caranci said. "Again, we don't normally see that on fires on Vancouver Island." The province has issued an air quality warning due to the wildfire smoke. It recommended residents near Port Alberni and areas to the southeast, such as Lake Cowichan, limit their time outdoors, as increasing smoke levels can increase health risks. The service said there is no threat to Bamfield or Port Alberni at this time, but has asked non-residents to stay away from Bamfield, an unincorporated community with about 300 year-round residents, to avoid putting more pressure on the community. Ken Watts, elected chief councillor of the Tsesaht First Nation, said he personally delivered evacuation alerts to some of his nation's members due to the blaze. "To see, like, the kind of fear in their eyes about their home and the sadness, worried about what it is, what could happen to their own home — it's something I'll never forget, and it's a tough thing to do," he said. "Really, again, a huge shout-out to all those who work in this field. They do this every single day." Power outage in Bamfield area B.C. Hydro says it's likely to be many days, possibly more than a week, before power is restored to Bamfield and the nearby Ditidaht First Nation. "It all depends on when we're given permission to go into the area to do the assessment," said Ted Olynyk, manager of community relations for B.C. Hydro, Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast. Olynyk said the utility company needs to wait for clearance from BCWS and government authorities in order for it to be safe for crews to assess the damage. And once Hydro crews can assess, then the repairs need to take place. "That can be a couple days; it could be up to a week, depending on the amount of damage we're faced with." Olynyk said there have been some pictures from the air showing damage to power lines. "But we don't know if it's just five poles, five kilometres' worth of poles [or] how much damage we have to deal with." Jack, ACRD chair, said Wednesday morning that the community hall and office operate on propane, and generators operate on diesel or gasoline. He said organizations are working to get fuel to the community through the alternate route to and from the Cowichan area.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wildfire burning near Halifax business park being held
A wildfire near a Halifax business park is being held and firefighters will remain at the scene overnight, according to an alert sent by the Halifax Regional Municipality Wednesday night. When a fire is held, it means a fire is under control but still smouldering. A mandatory evacuation of all businesses in the plaza on the wset side of Chain Lake Drive remains in place, and all access points to the plaza west of Chain Lake Drive from Julius Boulevard to the Kent store remain closed and secured by police, the alert said. The fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. AT Tuesday in the Susies Lake area near the north entrance to Bayers Lake Business Park, about 10 kilometres west of downtown Halifax. The province confirmed the fire was caused by human activity in an update on Wednesday afternoon. In social media posts earlier Wednesday, the provincial Natural Resources Department said 30 of its firefighters were on scene at first light. They were soon joined by six firefighters with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency. Natural Resources said there was a short window of favourable foggy, misty conditions for ground crews working Wednesday morning. The fog initially prevented aircraft from being used to fight the fire, but in the afternoon helicopters began dropping water. The fire was initially estimated to be 25 to 30 hectares, but Natural Resources said it was now 15 hectares. It cautioned the size could change given it is still out of control. A forest fire alert was issued for part of Annapolis County on Wednesday night due to a fire in the Godfrey Lake area. Some residents have been asked to prepare to evacuate if the fire behavior changes. Natural Resources said Wednesday afternoon there were also two small wildfires burning near Lake Paul, in Kings County, estimated at 0.9 hectares and 1.9 hectares. The smaller fire is under control while the larger one remains out of control. It said 15 Natural Resources firefighters and 30 local firefighters were on scene along with two helicopters dropping water. An alert issued by the Halifax Regional Municipality at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday said there was a mandatory evacuation of a number of stores and restaurants along the west side of Chain Lake Drive, the main thoroughfare in the business park. It said the evacuation was required to manage traffic issues and "protect residents and workers," as officials urged people to stay away from the area. Roy Hollett, deputy chief with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, said earlier Wednesday that no homes have been evacuated. However, Nova Scotia Health's Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre, which was evacuated on Tuesday, will remain closed Thursday. "We do encourage people, if you do not need to be in that area, don't go there," Hollett told Information Morning Nova Scotia. On Tuesday, planes could be seen circling around large plumes of smoke, dipping down into a nearby lake as spectators looked on from docks and balconies in the suburb of Timberlea. One Natural Resources helicopter was dropping water, as were several planes sent from New Brunswick, where there are two major wildfires burning. The planes were later sent back but could return if needed. Bill Knowlton, an owner at B.A.D. Dog Cycles in Timberlea, said he had a front-row seat to planes scooping up water in Governor Lake. He said a colleague had spotted smoke rising from a nearby wooded area Tuesday afternoon. "And then it was a whole lot of activity in a hurry," Knowlton said in an interview on Wednesday outside the motorcycle shop. "We heard that air support was coming in, and that air support turned out to be two great big water bombers from Quebec. Big yellow guys." Knowlton said there were still kayakers in the lake when they first started buzzing overhead. "Everybody took the hint and cleared the lake. Then they came in right out of nowhere and started scooping," he said. "We were laughing because commercial planes couldn't land as softly as those guys were landing in the water as they were filling up. Then they would power up, take off and they just kept a continuous circle. It was an amazing sight to see." He said dozens of people arrived on the shores of the lake to take in the action. "We could have handed the pilot a Pepsi, it felt like. He was so close to us as he was coming through," said Knowlton. Officials issued an emergency alert Tuesday evening warning people not to use drones within 9.3 kilometres of the uncontrolled wildfire. The Halifax Professional Fire Fighters confirmed in a Facebook post that a drone did temporarily pause operations. Hollett said if helicopters or planes see a drone in the air, "they will not risk hitting them." "It could cause a very serious air collision," he said. "If you get caught having a drone in the wildfire area, you will be charged." Nova Scotia has been experiencing extremely dry conditions. Last week, the provincial government imposed a ban on people entering the woods in an effort to help prevent wildfires. People who violate the ban could be slapped with a $25,000 fine. The federal Agriculture Department's latest drought update, released Tuesday, said the Atlantic region received below-normal precipitation in July, with large portions of Nova Scotia receiving less than 40 per cent of normal monthly precipitation. The report said the southwestern tip of the province is abnormally dry, while there are moderate to severe drought conditions elsewhere. Environment Canada said smoke from nearby wildfires is reducing air quality throughout Halifax County. The air quality statement said people more likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke, including people aged 65 and older, pregnant people and infants, should avoid strenuous activities outdoors and seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms. The national weather forecaster said health risks can increase as smoke levels rise, so people should consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events. WATCH | Highlights from wildfire news conference on Wednesday: MORE TOP STORIES
