2 B.C. fires that forced evacuations on Vancouver Island, near Kelowna now being held

CTV News

19 hours ago

There's potentially good news coming for some of the hundreds of evacuees from the Wesley Ridge wildfire on Vancouver Island.
Two wildfires that have forced people out of their homes in British Columbia are now classified as being held, although an evacuation order remains in effect for one of them that is burning on south-central Vancouver Island.
An update from the BC Wildfire Service shows the other blaze that forced a tactical evacuation of about 25 homes near Kelowna, B.C., over the weekend is no longer expected to grow beyond its 2.5-hectare perimeter.
All residents evacuated Sunday can now return home, while Central Okanagan Emergency Operations says three addresses are subject to evacuation alerts, with residents told to prepare for possible evacuation again on short notice.
On Vancouver Island, the wildfire service has also updated the status of the Wesley Ridge blaze, which spans just under six square kilometres on the northern shore of Cameron Lake, about 60 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo.
The service says it's not expected to grow beyond existing control lines, though the Regional District of Nanaimo website showed no change to an evacuation order last updated on Aug. 6.
It was amended that day to allow some people to return home, while nearly 300 households remained on evacuation order for the blaze that is categorized as the province's only wildfire of note.
An update from the wildfire service on Monday says the Wesley Ridge fire did not grow on Sunday and was displaying mostly rank-one fire behaviour, meaning a 'smouldering ground fire with no open flame.'
The service says crews were continuing efforts to improve containment lines while directly attacking the fire along its northern, western and eastern flanks.
The wildfire service had warned that fire behaviour could intensify with hot, dry and windy weather in southern parts of B.C., where Environment Canada has issued a series of heat warnings stretching from the coast to the Kamloops area.
The weather agency says eastern and inland parts of Vancouver Island as well as the Sunshine Coast and the Sea to Sky region will see daytime highs reaching 30 C.
The mercury was expected to hit 33 C in Metro Vancouver, while temperatures near 35 C were expected in the Fraser Canyon, South Thompson and South Okanagan areas.
There are just under 100 active fires across B.C., with 11 classified as burning out of control. About 105 fires have been declared out in the last seven days.
This report by Chuck Chiang and Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press, was first published Aug. 11, 2025.