The BC Wildfire Service has updated its size estimate for the Mount Underwood wildfire. It has grown to 3,406 hectares but the growth is not towards the City of Port Alberni.
"There is still no imminent danger," Mayor Sharie Minions said at an update with BCWS Thursday morning. "We don't want our residents to panic. As I've said, as areas of concern do come up, we will issue alerts, we will issue notices and orders if necessary."
Officials are also warning residents satellite maps showing heat spots do not necessarily reflect the fire's size or location and hot spots that appear on those maps can be from smoke or the heat from the nearby blaze.
Stefan Hood, BCWS incident commander for the Cameron Complex, which includes Wesley Ridge and Mount Underwood fires, said crews are mapping the perimeter.
"We're only 72 hours into this," he said, adding that BCWS crews are driving all the roads and walking areas to determine the exact perimeter. "We're doing everything we can, down to walking the ground to accurately find the perimeter."
He said some of the satellite maps yesterday were picking up heat signatures from blowing smoke, which did not accurately reflect the perimeter.
Hood added there are challenges for ground crews when it comes to accessing some of the roads in the area as debris from the fire has made them unsafe to travel on.
BC Wildfire Service is hoping changing weather conditions can help slow the spread of the fire and give them more time to set up fuel breaks and protection.
"I wouldn't say that rain would put this fire out," Hood said. "Rain will only just serve to buy us some time to get our crews in there, get the heavy equipment in there to construct some guards."
It was drought conditions, with little rain since May, that led to the fire's massive size. Winds and terrain pushed it along but the drought has likely made it more severe than it otherwise would have been.
"The forecast moving forward doesn't suggest that we should be into the same kind of conditions that allowed for the growth we saw," Hood said. "We're way better positions now that we're already here and established. We have the firefighters that we need, we have the support of the EOC (emergency operations centre). We have all the systems in place."
Minions is confident in the BCWS's ability to manage the fire.
"We have the best wildfire service in B.C., we also have the best of that service responding to this fire," she said. "We are extremely confident in the resources that we have both at a local government level and at BC Wildfire and provincial level managing this situation."
Minions said they cannot be 100 per cent sure there is won't be any risk to the city, but that people will be made well aware if the situation changes and evacuation alerts will be put in place to let people know if they need to prepare to leave.
Port Alberni has issued a state of local emergency and an evacuation alert for Cameron Heights as precautions. While nobody needs to evacuate yet, evacuation alerts are meant to advise people to prepare in case conditions change.
Another measure the city is taking is sending out notices to homes with fire hazards, like long grass, advising them to their properties so if the fire does come closer there is a better chance the city will remain safe.
One of the common ways fires spread is through burning debris, like pine needles, being carried by the wind and igniting flammable materials. If those flammable materials are close to a structure, it can spread more easily.
The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) is asking people to avoid Bamfield unless they are residents.
"If you are in Bamfield and you do not live there, we are asking that you leave as soon as possible," said Alberni councillor and ACRD vice chair Debbie Haggard. Bamfield remains without power. The power has been out in the area since Monday evening.
Haggard also reminded people of the health risks from smoke, which can be more severe in children, seniors and people with respiratory conditions. She reminded people to stay indoors when they can, use air purifiers with HEPA filters, avoid strenuous outdoor activity and wear an N95 medical mask if you do need to be outdoors.
Minions said the city has vulnerable and unhoused residents and the city and ACRD are planning to open a reception centre to ensure those members of the community can escape the smoky conditions.
In place at the Mount Underwood fire there are:
- 87 firefighters
- 14 structure protection units
- 11 helicopters, two of which can have nightvision capabilities
- 12 pieces of heavy equipment
- 10 danger tree fallers
- an incident management team
Some of those resources, like the helicopters, are being shared between the now under control Wesley Ridge fire and the Mount Underwood fire.
Hood said the incident management team travels to the most challenging and impactful fires in the province, bringing resources of a small, mobile fire centre and expertise. The incident management team helps take some of the stress off of the fire centre, allowing them to focus on initial attack should other fires ignite.
