The Mount Underwood wildfire, located between Bamfield and Port Alberni, has now grown to 1,391 hectares in approximately 24-hours.
The blaze is located around 12 kilometres south of Port Alberni, and just 19 kilometres southwest of the Wesley Ridge wildfire.
In the latest update from the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), they have announced the closure of Franklin River Road.
BCWS says that traffic control is now in place on the Alberni side from Cameron Shop all the way to the Franklin River Road, Bamfield Main Road and Cameron Main Road junction.
The latest updates on road closures can be found on DriveBC’s website.
As of 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 12th, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) has issued an evacuation order for a vast area stretching from just south of Headquarters Bay, to north of China Creek Campground and eastward towards Corrigan Creek.
The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District has issued an Evacuation Order for the Mount Underwood area (Electoral Areas A&F) due to the Mount Underwood #BCWildfire. This wildfire is a threat to life & safety. Impacted people must evacuate NOW. More info & map:… pic.twitter.com/T458uwpFbS
— Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) August 12, 2025
This recent evacuation order follows the China Creek Regional Park and Campground evacuation, which took place on the evening of Monday, August 11th.
More details on the evacuation order can be found via the ACRD website.
As of this publication, there is also a massive power outage in Bamfield and surrounding areas. The outage stretches from Bamfield to within the fire’s perimeter, beyond the Franklin River.
“We are asking people to stay away from Bamfield unless you are a resident; we don’t want any additional pressures to the [sic] community by having extra people trying to get there, either by road or by trails,” said BCWS in their latest wildfire update.
BCWS is currently responding to the Mount Underwood wildfire with an initial attack crew, an air tanker and four helicopters.
Additionally, night vision equipped helicopters and structural protection specialists are also responding to create a tactical response strategy.
Structural protection will be focussed on private campgrounds, mills and log sorting facilities in the surrounding region of the wildfire.
BCWS added that a ‘Type 1’ Incident Management Team is enroute and will take over command of the incident on Thursday, August 14th.
As of this publication, BCWS says this wildfire is expanding rapidly and displaying Rank 4 and Rank 5 fire behaviour.
Where the Mount Underwood wildfire is currently labelled as ‘out of control,’ the nearby Wesley Ridge wildfire has been downgraded to ‘being held,’ and is holding steady at 588 hectares in size.
