Power has returned to the Bamfield area and Nitinaht, but the road to the communities will remain closed longer than anticipated “due to unsafe conditions” caused by the Mount Underwood wildfire, says the province.
The effects of a wildfire have once again highlighted the insufficiency of relying on a series of logging roads that lead to remote communities on southwest Vancouver Island, says the Ditidaht First Nation.
Since Aug. 11 the road from Port Alberni that leads to Bamfield, Anacla and the Ditidaht First Nation village traditionally known as balaac̓adt at Nitinaht Lake has been closed, as crews battled the quickly spreading Mount Underwood forest fire. Now classified as “being held”, Mount Underwood is no longer growing, but life in balaac̓adt is still stressful.
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For the second year running, 2 Rivers Remix Society (2RMX) and VirtualFeast.ca are bringing a free Indigenous music, art and culture festival to three communities on Vancouver Island.
Dubbed ‘Movable Feast’, the Island tour launches on Saturday, Aug. 23 in the Toquaht Nation community of Macoah in western Barkley Sound, followed by Ahousaht on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and ending in ‘Yalis (Alert Bay) on Saturday, Aug. 30.
Ever since the Mount Underwood forest fire cut off power and direct road access to the community of Bamfield and Anacla on August 11th, the town has been abuzz with talk on what it all means. For better or worse, Facebook has been the primary conduit for information sharing and discussion.
The Mount Underwood wildfire has been downgraded to “being held”, indicating that crews have gained control of the fire’s entire perimeter.
The new classification from “out of control” to “being held” was made by the BC Wildfire Service on Wednesday, meaning that Mount Underwood is not expected to grow beyond the perimeter that has been established.
“Fire behaviour and activity has been minimal on this incident, primarily Rank 1 – a smoldering ground fire with no open flame,” stated the wildfire service in an update issued today.
Electricity is expected to return to Bamfield, Anacla and Nitinaht by Aug. 30, but it’s unclear when a major road to the villages will reopen, as crews work in the aftermath of the largest forest fire Vancouver Island has seen in years.
Three suspicious deaths in early August have created public unease in Port Alberni, a city of over 18,000 located within the traditional territories of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations on Vancouver Island.
On Aug. 1, Port Alberni RCMP responded to a report of a suspicious fire in the 2000 block of 16th Avenue. Firefighters were on scene putting out the fire and performing life saving measures on an adult male resident, police said, and an adult female was located suffering from fire and smoke related injuries.