Two more wildfires have emerged on Vancouver Island so far this week, both of which have been deemed ‘out of control’ by the BC Wildfire Service.
Both were discovered on Monday, July 21st, with the larger of the two being 4.5 hectares in size and is located near the Comox Lake Bluffs Ecological Reserve.
Just five kilometres from Highway 19 and around 10 kilometres from Cumberland, the blaze is being fought back by a 22-person BC Wildfire Service crew and two helicopters.
“We had good success yesterday but were challenged on the West Flank, which was too steep for air tankers to action,” said the BC Wildfire Service.
They added that smoke is currently visible throughout the Comox Valley.
This wildfire is suspected to have been caused by humans.
The second out of control wildfire is located just off Nanaimo River Road, around one kilometre west of Nanaimo River Canyon Community Park.
It is around three hectares in size, and BC Wildfire Service says it is also suspected to have been caused by humans.
“We are responding with initial attack crews and officers with aerial support from helicopters, air tankers and a water tender,” said the BC Wildfire Service.
“While there is a BC Hydro line and homes in the general area, the fire is not a threat to any structures or critical infrastructure at this time. Smoke is visible from the South Nanaimo area.”
In addition to these two wildfires, the Nahmint Mountain wildfire, which was discovered on June 8th, has been upgraded to ‘being held’ from its former designation of being ‘under control.’
“As of July 21, a portion of the fire has burned into an area that crews can safely access, so we will be assigning a unit crew to begin working on the fire in accordance with the established plan for the fire,” said the BC Wildfire Service.
“This operation is expected to take two to three days.”
They added that this fire is not currently a threat to structures, critical infrastructure or public safety.
There are three other small, under control wildfires in the southern region of Vancouver Island, none of which are larger than 1.2 hectares.
As of this publication, there are 73 active wildfires throughout all of BC.
