Electricity is expected to return to Bamfield, Anacla and Nitinaht by Aug. 30, but it’s unclear when a major road to the villages will reopen, as crews work in the aftermath of the largest forest fire Vancouver Island has seen in years.
The road from Port Alberni to Bamfield remains closed, as an evacuation order is still in place from kilometre six to 26 on the route, according to an update given by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District today. This has cut off road access from Port Alberni to the villages of Bamfield, Anacla and Nitinaht since the Mount Underwood wildfire emerged at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 11. After a week the forest fire grew to 3,600 hectares – far larger than any wildfire seen in the region in several years.
In recent days rain has calmed the blaze, but residents of the cut off remote communities remain in a desperate situation, as the power has been out since Mount Underwood erupted in flames. Access to Nitinaht, Bamfield and the Huu-ay-aht village of Anacla is still possible through a series of logging roads that begin at Youbou, but this route has so far proved to be a difficult passage for essential supplies.
Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, said that 17 flats tires were reported from the logging road in a 24-hour span. This is particularly concerning for the Ditidaht First Nation community of Nitinaht.
“Ditidaht in particular runs its generators on propane and the propane trucks have refused to use the road in its current condition,” stated an Aug. 20 press release from the NTC. “This has created an urgent situation for Ditidaht as the generator which runs the community water system uses propane. If Ditidaht cannot get propane, they will not be able to get water to their members.”
Forestry companies and the B.C. Ministry of Transportation are responsible for managing sections of this route. The tribal council has asked them for help to improve the passage of logging roads to a workable condition.
“We urgently appeal to Mosaic Forest Management, [the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, TFL 46 Teal Jones and TFL 44 (Western/Caawakin) to work on repairing the Youbou road to a driveable condition as a critical measure for our members living in Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht so they can get propane delivered and they can mobilize their members, especially if evacuation is required,” said Sayers.
The forest fire burned through 56 power poles, affecting six kilometres of electrical lines to the three remote villages south of Port Alberni. So far 15 new poles have been placed, with 11 spans of power line already strung, according to an update from BC Hydro given on Aug. 19. Power is expected to return to Nitinaht, Bamfield and Anacla by Aug. 30, 19 days after the communities went dark.
“As of today, a growing team of restoration personnel is on site, including line technicians, vegetation management crews and equipment operators,” stated the provincial utility provider on Aug. 19. “Meanwhile, detailed plans have been submitted to begin work in the section of the corridor that traverses steep forested cliffs and unstable rock – an area currently restricted due to safety concerns. BC Hydro will commence operations in that zone as clearance is granted by the BC Wildfire Service.”
North of the fire, a state of emergency remains in place for the Tseshaht First Nation, the City of Port Alberni and the ACRD, but evacuation notices have been downgraded. On Aug. 20 the evacuation order for the China Creek Campground and Marina, which lies close to the forest fire, was changed to an alert, allowing people to return to the site if they choose. This lifting also applies to the nearby Headquarters Bay.
On Aug. 13 precautionary evacuation alerts were given to the Cameron Heights neighbourhood at the south end of Port Alberni and the Tseshaht reserve at Polly’s Point. When this came those living in the three homes and RV at Polly’s Point chose to leave, but the alert has now been lifted for the reserve and Cameron Heights.
“They did make the choice after the alert to leave their homes,” said Tseshaht Chief Councillor Wahmeesh, Ken Watts, during a press conference on Aug. 20. “They are back home now. I’m very happy to have hand-delivered the notices to them this morning.”
Mount Underwood is no longer considered a potential threat to these areas, but the fire remains classified as “out of control” by the BC Wildfire Service. The entire perimeter of the fire must be worked over by ground personnel in order to change this classification, said Fire Information Officer Karley Desrosiers, something that the service hopes can be achieved in the coming days.
“Our objective is to get the entire perimeter of this fire worked by ground crews, to extinguish heat along the fire perimeter,” she said. “That means extinguishing hot spots up to 100 feet from the active perimeter in areas where they are able to work safely.”
Another 8.4 millimetres of rain fell on the wildfire Tuesday, adding to the precipitation that continued through the previous Friday and weekend. This has stabilized the wildfire, with no growth seen this week.
“Throughout the entire weekend since last Thursday we’ve seen very minimal fire behaviour, primarily a smouldering ground fire with limited open flame, and today even less,” said Desrosiers. “We are not expecting this fire to grow beyond the perimeter.”
During the Aug . 20 press conference officials expressed their gratitude to forest firefighters and others who have worked to keep the blaze from reaching Port Alberni or destroying any homes.
“After over a week of high stress and worry and our nation trying to remain calm, we thank you,” said Hupacasath Chief Councillor Brandy Lauder.
“People are literally risking their lives every single day to keep us safe,” added Watts to the acknowledgements.
“I was watching from my house helicopters go back and forth just endlessly into what looked like a black cloud of smoke,” said Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions. “I can’t imagine how unnerving the situation must have been for people on the ground and in the air fighting the fire.”
