Evacuation orders, alerts lifted as wildfire north of Nanaimo declared under control

NANAIMO — The last group of wildfire evacuees forced from their Vancouver Island homes by a blaze north of Nanaimo were allowed to return over the weekend after crews got the fire under control.

The BC Wildfire Service announced Saturday afternoon that crews made significant progress in combating the Wesley Ridge blaze burning near Cameron Lake.

The wildfire service said firefighters were still in the area patrolling and extinguishing hot spots. Nearby communities may continue seeing smoke for weeks.

At one point, hundreds of residents had been ordered out of their homes due to the fire that was detected on July 31.

The Regional District of Nanaimo said it was pleased all residents could return home after an evacuation order for the final 35 properties and an evacuation alert for 268 properties were lifted.

The fire scorched nearly six square kilometres of land and was previously listed as held.

The city of Vernon in B.C. said on Sunday afternoon that it’s activating the local emergency operation centre as crews battle the Boltres Creek Wildfire, which is burning out of control.

In an update early Sunday evening, the city announced it had issued tactical evacuations of about 20 properties on Commonage Road from Rose’s Pond to the Allan Brookes Nature Centre, saying people living in those areas should be away from their properties for an “extended period of time.”

That tactical evacuation was lifted shortly after and the city said those who were evacuated are safe to return home.

The wildfire service said the Boltres Creek wildfire is about eight kilometres south of Vernon, close to Highway 97. The blaze is now measured at just over one square kilometres in size, up from 0.4 square kilometres earlier in the day.

The service said 17 firefighters, three helicopters, and airtankers are in the field to contain the blaze.

The cause of the fire is now listed as suspected human-caused.

Meanwhile, the Mount Underwood Wildfire, which is burning out of control near Port Alberni, B.C., has grown to more than 36 square kilometres.

Karley Desrosiers, an information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, said as of Sunday, a total of 35 millimetres of rain had fallen on the blaze since Thursday night.

“Overall, we’re seeing smouldering ground fire with a little bit of open flame,” said Desrosiers. “The rain and the downturn in weather has given crews a bit of an upper hand when it comes to getting access to areas that were previously high risk due to fire behaviour.”

Desrosiers said 144 wildland firefighters and 20 pieces of heavy equipment have been assigned to battle the flames.

Desrosiers said fire behaviour is set to increase this week because the weather will switch from cooler patterns to warmer and drier conditions.

“We’re working in priority areas to avoid potential spread in sections of the fire that pose the highest risk to communities,” said Desrosiers.

The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District on Vancouver Island said smoke from the Mount Underwood wildfire is affecting air quality across the region, and the clean air relief centre at Port Alberni, B.C., was open on Sunday, with the multiplex resuming operating hours on Monday.

A situation report from the BC Wildfire Service said weather was expected to slowly start to change on Sunday, bringing warmer, drier conditions to the Southern Interior right across to the southeastern reaches of the province.

Coastal and northern regions were forecast to stay cooler and damp, it said.

There are 75 wildfires currently burning in British Columbia, four of which are out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2025.