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

NANAIMO — Hundreds of wildfire evacuees were allowed to return home over the weekend after firefighting crews got a blaze burning north of Nanaimo under control.

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

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

The Regional District of Nanaimo said it is pleased residents can return home after the evacuation order for 35 properties and the evacuation alert for 268 properties were lifted.

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

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 Services, said as of Sunday, a total of 35 millimetres of rain had fallen on the blaze since last 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.

A situation report from the BC Wildfire Services said the weather pattern will 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 are 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.