What began as an explosive wildfire that sent a mushroom-cloud-like plume of smoke above Port Alberni is now a steaming, charred mountain slope – thanks in large part to rain after three days of concerning growth.
As on Monday, Aug. 18, 144 wildfire personnel were on Mount Underwood, digging up the smouldering remains of the forest fire to expose and extinguish the still burning undergrowth. The Mount Underwood blaze emerged at about 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, rapidly growing up the mountain slope that overlooks the China Creek Campground and Marina. By Friday that week Mount Underwood had grown to over 3,400 hectares, making it the largest forest fire Vancouver Island has seen in years. The fire is currently reported to cover 3,671 hectares, and remains the only “wildfire of note” in British Columbia, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.
Mount Underwood is still listed as “out of control”, but its behaviour has clearly eased, as has the weather. Over the wildfire’s first two days of activity temperatures in the Alberni Valley rose to the mid 30s, but by the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 14 the rain started, continuing through the next few days as the weather cooled. By Monday, Aug. 18, the B.C. Wildfire Service reported 36 millimetres of rain has fallen on the wildfire.
“This precipitation has reduced fire behaviour to primarily Rank 1 – smouldering ground fire with some open flame,” stated the wildfire service. “Shorter days, longer nights, and higher relative humidity will continue to support stronger overnight recoveries.”
Kiah Allen is operations chief for the Mount Underwood fire with the B.C. Wildfire Service. In an update given on Aug. 17 she said crews were working to establish a 100-foot-wide area at the edge of the fire with “100 per-cent extinguishment”.
“They’re starting with mop up, and they’re going to be putting out, extinguishing hot spots within a certain area to the perimeter of the fire,” she said. “What that allows us to do is ensure that there’s not going to be a flare up that starts somewhere outside of the perimeter, or that’s not going to flare up and have flame lengths that go overtop the guard.”
Nineteen pieces of heavy equipment are also on the scene, digging trenches outside Mount Underwood’s perimeter to prevent future spread.
On the wildfire’s east flank three 20-person unit crews are working towards each other to contain smouldering north of the Franklin River.
“Crews have established an anchor point on the northwest flank,” reported the wildfire service. “Three unit crews are working south along the west flank and eastward along the north flank to build containment.”
Over this week fire activity on Mount Underwood is expected to remain low, as higher temperatures aren’t forecasted to return until Thursday or Friday.
The nearby road from Port Alberni to Bamfield has been closed from the evening that the fire broke, with no indication on when it will reopen. This section of Franklin River Road passes through an evacuation order that was issued for the China Creek Campground and Marina, which remains in place.
Making maters worse is a widespread power outage that has cut off electricity to Bamfield, Anacla and the Ditidaht First Nation community of Nitinaht since Aug. 11. BC Hydro reports that the wildfire caused extensive damage to power poles and lines that run to these small communities.
In an update issued on Aug. 16 the provincial utility cautioned that power restoration could up to two weeks.
“Fifty-six power poles, along with associated wire and hardware, will need to be replaced,” stated BC Hydro. “Crews will need to restring 70 spans of power line – roughly 20 kilometres in total. The rebuild will cover six kilometres, including two kilometres of particularly difficult terrain marked by steep forested cliffs and unstable rock.”
Three crews are at the location to undertake power restoration, plus 10 vegetation workers and four pole-digging machines. Mount Underwood is south of Port Alberni, but with the road closed, these crews need to travel from Duncan, accessing from the other direction along logging roads that are adding two hours of travel time each way to their daily workload.
Besides the evacuation order for the China Creek facility and the area of the wildfire, alerts were issued on Aug. 13 by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District for areas at the south end of Port Alberni. These include the city’s Cameron Heights neighbourhood, a portion of the Cherry Creek electoral area and the Tseshaht reserve at Polly’s Point.
During a press conference on the day these alerts were issued, Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions assured residents that the city was “not in imminent danger,” but encouraged people to have essentials ready if any evacuation orders are given.
“We want people to always be prepared for a possible evacuation,” she said, noting that the alerts were issued as a precaution only.
While Mount Underwood has died down for the time being, how the wildfire affected life over its first week is destined to remain in the collective memory of the region’s residents. Smoke filled the Alberni Inlet, bringing concerning levels to fine particulate matter into the atmosphere that prompted businesses to close and outdoor events to be cancelled. On Friday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. the volume of fine particles reached 268 per cubic metre, according to data from a monitoring station at Alberni Elementary. This is ten times higher than the provincial standard of an average 25 fine particles per cubic metre over a 24-hour period.
“People more likely to be negatively impacted by outdoor air pollution should reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors or seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms,” stated Island Health in an air quality advisory. “This includes people aged 65 and older, pregnant individuals, infants and young children, people with an existing illness or chronic health condition such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease and diabetes, and people who work outdoors.”
Remarkably, the China Creek Campground and Marina has remained untouched by the forest fire. In a public statement, the facility’s management thanked wildfire fighters for their efforts, and has allowed these personnel to stay in the China Creek cabins and guesthouse as they attend to Mount Underwood.
Meanwhile, south of the fire residents of the communities without power are relying on generators and emergency supplies. For the Ditidaht First Nation, help came from across the Juan de Fuca Strait, where their relatives in the Makah Tribe live in Neah Bay, Washington. The Makah gave several generators to the Nitinaht community.
"Your donation of generators, cords, lighting, and supplies brought light, comfort, happy tears, and hope to our community when we needed it most," said the Ditidaht First Nation to the Makah. "Your generosity shows the strength of our Nations when we stand together."
