The Wesley Ridge wildfire, located on the northwest banks of Cameron Lake, has been officially deemed as ‘being held.’
This means the blaze is projected to remain within the current perimeter, based on fuel, weather conditions and resource availability.
Despite this update, the fire has grown from 571 hectares to 588 over the weekend.
This human-caused wildfire has been challenging for BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) to combat, given the difficult terrain within the current fire zone, and has prompted the evacuation of nearby residences within the Little Qualicum River Village.
Update on response
BCWS says that fire activity was minimal over the weekend, with night vision equipped helicopters active late into the evening on Saturday night, dropping water to cool the western edge of the fire high up on Wesley Ridge. Additionally, a drone was used overnight to scan the area for hotspots.
“The fire displayed mostly Rank 1 fire behaviour (smouldering ground fire with no open flame) in these areas,” said BCWS in a media release.
“There were isolated pockets of Rank 2 (low-vigour surface fire with some visible flame) and Rank 3 (moderately vigorous surface fire).”
After Sunday’s intense heat in the region, BCWS says that weather conditions are forecasted to remain hot and dry in the area until Wednesday or Thursday.
The priority for BCWS firefighters continues to be the ongoing protection of residences, properties and critical infrastructure.
Additionally, ground crews’ efforts are being put towards improving containment of the northern, western and eastern flanks, where the fire is burning in steep terrain.
On the western shore of Cameron Lake, crews and helicopters are working to prevent further westward growth of the fire while helicopters are bucketing the fire as needed to decrease the fire behaviour.
Thus far, no structures have been burned in Little Qualicum River Village, with crews using a drone to target identified areas of heat and fully extinguish any identified hot spots.
In addition to the update on the situation, BCWS is reminding boaters on Cameron Lake that aircraft responding to the fire need plenty of space to safely and quickly collect water to help fight fires.
They ask all boaters in an area where active wildfires are present to clear the area and stay near the shore to avoid interfering with firefighting operations.
“Recreational boaters or people using other watercraft who try to get a close-up look at the aircraft present a serious safety risk to air crews, themselves and anyone else in the area,” said BCWS.
“This behaviour also affects our ability to fight a fire or practice safely, since aircraft cannot collect water when a boat is in the intended flight path.”
BCWS added that boat wakes can also pose a danger to water scooping aircraft.
Evacuations
Due to the severity of the wildfire, the Regional District of Nanaimo has issued evacuation orders for several areas immediately around the Wesley Ridge wildfire burn zone, and an evacuation warning has been issued for more areas.
Some of the boundaries of the evacuation order and warning issued have changed slightly.
Those in the evacuation order zone should have already vacated their homes and workplaces in the area.
People who live and work in the area of the evacuation warning zone should have a plan for how to get to safety, and know where they should be going.
Evacuation information can be found online through the BCWS Wesley Ridge wildfire webpage.
