The effects of a wildfire have once again highlighted the insufficiency of relying on a series of logging roads that lead to remote communities on southwest Vancouver Island, says the Ditidaht First Nation.
Since Aug. 11 the road from Port Alberni that leads to Bamfield, Anacla and the Ditidaht First Nation village traditionally known as balaac̓adt at Nitinaht Lake has been closed, as crews battled the quickly spreading Mount Underwood forest fire. Now classified as “being held”, Mount Underwood is no longer growing, but life in balaac̓adt is still stressful.
“Right now people are struggling to maintain some sort of continuity, some sort of normalcy of life,” said Ditidaht Chief Councillor Judi Thomas.
Along with Bamfield and the Huu-ay-aht village of Anacla, power to balaac̓adt has also been cut off since 6:21 p.m. on Aug. 11. This occurred during the early moments of the Mount Underwood wildfire, which burned 56 power poles and damaged a six-kilometre span of electrical lines.
“The emotions and tensions are high and difficult, then it swings the other way to feeling hope and joy as news comes out like yesterday’s, that hydro is ahead of schedule,” said Thomas.
Crews from BC Hydro were permitted to begin repairing the line on Aug. 16. The provincial utility provider said power would be restored by Aug. 30, but an update given on Thursday (Aug. 21) said “strong and steady progress” could bring back electricity sooner.
The village at Nitinaht Lake regularly faces power outages in the winter, and approximately 30 of its 68 homes have fuel-powered generators. But these can’t be run 24 hours a day, says Thomas, noting that some generators have already broken down from overuse.
“We were not prepared for a summer power outage,” she said. “Most lost all of their freezer food. For those that we could grab and cook, we brought to the community hall and everybody shared a meal together. We couldn’t eat it all.”
Since the power went out the First Nation has served three meals a day at the generator-powered community hall, which have been attended by 50-100 people each time. A trailer with showers has been brought to the community, while some are venturing to Duncan or Lake Cowichan to use laundry facilities.
Nitinaht’s gas station and store are also powered by a generator, but having large fuel trucks rely on the only open route from Youbou is an ongoing concern. With the Bamfield road closed, road access into the area is only possible through a series of logging roads that begin at the western part of Lake Cowichan. Over the last two winters large holes emerged on this road, which forced the Ditidaht to warns driver and repair the openings.
“It’s bad right now,” said Thomas of the current state of the road, noting multiple flat tires and even a vehicle with a completely dislodged front wheel. “It’s costly for community members and the emergency response team.”
For balaac̓adt residents, the increased traffic on the road looks a lot like the summer of 2023. Two years ago the Cameron Bluffs wildfire shut down highway 4, cutting off access to Port Alberni and communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The province designated the logging roads from Youbou as a detour route.
“It was really unsafe and put a lot of people at risk,” recalled Thomas. “We’ve never seen McDonald’s tractor trailers driving through.”
This emerged a multi-jurisdictional dispute over who was responsible for maintaining the route, as it crosses over a complex collection of landowners and tree farm licence tenure holders. The time is long overdue to change the passage from a forest service road to a provincial road, which would bring clear standards and management, says Thomas.
“That road goes through federal land, provincial park land, provincial Crown lands, TFL holders, TFL owners, forest company private landowners, there’s just so many,” she said. “Nobody could really make a decision easily without consulting all of those jurisdictions and getting them all on the same page.”
For the time being, Ditidaht has secured emergency assistance funding from the province. This has enabled the First Nation to get the shower trailer and manage the road until Bamfield Main reopens, with daily grading and flaggers in different locations to direct traffic.
The southbound route from Port Alberni remains closed from the China Creek Campground and Marina to the Franklin River. A reopening date has yet to be announced.
