Latest news with #Bamfield
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Wildfire could come at a cost to Bamfield's tourism economy, residents say
Residents of the remote community of Bamfield, B.C., have been without power since Monday due to one of the largest wildfires on Vancouver Island in recent memory. But many residents say they are more concerned about the loss of visitors than about the lack of electricity, while they wait for the danger to pass. B.C. Hydro says it can't estimate when power will be restored to the 500 customers from Bamfield and the Ditidaht First Nation who are affected, as it remains unsafe to assess the damaged power lines while the fire continues to grow. The main road is also cut off, leaving a logging road or water routes for people and supplies to get into the community. The 300-year-round residents of Bamfield say they are used to going without power, and many have generators keeping them going through the outage. But the Mount Underwood wildfire, which is currently more than 34 square kilometres, has come at a cost to the local tourism economy, at the peak of the season. "Our guests left yesterday, and we've had to cancel the rest of our guests for the summer," said Mandy Ross, owner of Dragonfly Vacation Rentals. August is traditionally the peak time for tourists, the primary drivers of the local economy. Some operators are still allowing guests to visit, although not taking new bookings, and the nearby Pachena Bay Campground has been cancelling reservations on a day-by-day basis. Bob Beckett, the director representing Bamfield with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, says it's not uncommon for the community to have power outages, but usually they're shorter, and during the winter storm season. The community also temporarily went without internet during the first two days of the fire. "The impact on our community, especially the lodges, the hotels, the restaurant, it's devastating," he said, adding that he plans to appeal to the province for financial assistance. Other officials with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, including vice-chairperson Debbie Haggard, have advised anyone who is not a resident of Bamfield to leave the area. Residents working to keep Bamfield running Ryan McKay starts each morning now at 4:30 a.m. by filling and firing up each of his five generators, a mechanical hum that underlies life in Bamfield this week. "Of course, that wakes everybody up," said McKay, owner of the McKay Bay Lodge. "But you know, they've got to go fishing anyway." One of the generators was delivered on a boat on Thursday to help McKay keep some of his lodge running for the 34 guests he had that night. He says his main guests are fishermen, who arrive by boat and haven't been deterred by the impact of the wildfire. However, McKay says if this continues beyond Labour Day, he'll have to close down early for the season. He also operates the only fuel dock in town, and has covered the change in cost due to the fire out-of-pocket to support his neighbours who rely on it to power their boats and generators. "The prices jumped through the roof, because [the tankers] have to take a big detour," McKay said. "But we've kept it the same, because we're not going to gouge during an emergency." Dan Riley, captain of the MV Frances Barkley ferry that travels between Port Alberni and Bamfield, says he's been helping to take extra generators and supplies in as needed throughout the week. "The community, they stick together," he said. "With the Frances Barkley here, we're going to do what we can to help out, too." While people are concerned, there isn't a sense of panic in town, according to Angela Fortune, general manager of Nova Harvest oyster supplier. "Before we had our improved road, five days to a week power outage wasn't abnormal," she said. "Right now, people are taking polls on when they think the power will be back on, and everyone's kind of preparing that this could be weeks."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- 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
Globe and Mail
6 days ago
- Climate
- Globe and Mail
Campground and marina near Port Alberni, B.C., evacuated as Mount Underwood wildfire spreads
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.'' Newfoundlanders ordered to evacuate as wildfire burns near St. John's Fire near Kelowna leads to tactical evacuations, closes highway 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, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District said Tuesday that an evacuation order has 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.' 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.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Port Alberni, B.C., declares state of emergency due to fast-moving wildfire
The Mount Underwood wildfire is burning out of control near Port Alberni, forcing hundreds of people to flee. The City of Port Alberni has declared a state of local emergency in response to a fast-moving wildfire that has burned more than 20 square kilometres of forest and triggered evacuations south of the Vancouver Island community. The Mount Underwood wildfire continues to burn out of control Wednesday, and has closed the main access road between Port Alberni and Bamfield, where the fire has knocked out power to hundreds of residents and businesses, according to BC Hydro. 'Bamfield has no power and limited services,' the B.C. Wildfire Service said in a fire response bulletin Wednesday morning. 'We are asking people to stay away from Bamfield unless you are a resident; we don't want any additional pressures to the community by having extra people trying to get there, either by road or by trails.' Read more: Complete coverage of B.C.'s 2025 wildfire season An evacuation order has been issued by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District for the China Creek Campground and Marina, which hosts approximately 250 campsites about 15 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni. On Tuesday, the regional district issued an evacuation order for about 300 rural properties in Electoral Area A and Electoral Area F. The neighbouring Cowichan Valley Regional District has also issued an evacuation order for homes in Electoral Area F, between Port Alberni and Nitinat. The Cameron Heights area of Port Alberni has been placed under an evacuation alert, with the city urging residents to be prepared to leave their homes on short notice. The Mount Underwood fire was first discovered Monday and spread rapidly, becoming the largest wildfire on Vancouver Island. Wildfire officials say night vision-equipped helicopters and an air tanker attacked the blaze Tuesday night as the fire reached within 12 kilometres of Port Alberni. The wildfire service says the fire is displaying rank-4 and rank-5 fire behaviour, meaning it is burning at a highly vigorous to extremely vigorous rate. Wildfire smoke advisory The fire has prompted Environment Canada to issue a special air quality statement for the inland Vancouver Island region as smoke is expected to remain over the region for the next 24 to 48 hours. 'Areas along the west coast of Vancouver Island (Tofino to Sooke) may also experience periods of smoke, but to a lesser degree,' the weather office said in an advisory Wednesday. 'As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events,' the agency added. 'People more likely to be impacted by outdoor air pollution, including people aged 65 and older, pregnant people, infants and young children, people with an existing illness or chronic health condition, and people who work outdoors, should reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors and seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms.' The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Approximately 90 wildfires are currently burning across B.C., seven of which are classified as out-of-control.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- 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
