A raging wildfire that has forced evacuations on south-central Vancouver Island has been burning at some of most severe levels of fire behaviour, a display that is "unusual" for the region, the British Columbia officials said Wednesday.
Karley Desrosiers, an information officer with the service, said there was "aggressive" growth on the fire within a couple hours of its discovery on Monday.
The blaze was reported at about 6:30 p.m. and it had grown to span 600 hectares by the end of that day, she told a briefing on Wednesday.
"That was quite significant and very unusual for not only Vancouver Island … but even elsewhere in the province, that would be considered quite significant."
By Wednesday, the fire had grown to span more than 20 square kilometres, located about 12 kilometres south of Port Alberni on the east side of the Alberni Inlet.
Desrosiers said the blaze was not threatening the communities of Port Alberni, Bamfield or Youbou on Wednesday.
A shift in winds and helicopters dumping water on the blaze had helped slow its growth Tuesday, with the most activity on its eastern flank, she said.
Wildfire crews were working to remove fuels, establish a hose line and build a guard along the northern flank, which is closest to Port Alberni, she said.
The blaze spurred the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, City of Port Alberni and Tseshaht First Nation to declare states of local emergency.
The regional district ordered the evacuation of an area on the east side of the Alberni Inlet, between Port Alberni and Bamfield, while the Cowichan Valley Regional District issued a separate order for an adjacent area.
Evacuation alerts were also in effect for a Tseshaht reserve and properties at the southwest end of Port Alberni, with residents told to be ready to leave quickly.
B.C.'s Emergency Management Ministry said fewer than 10 homes were affected by the two evacuation orders, while the alerts covered about 200 homes.
Photographer and videographer Colby Rex O'Neill, who lives east of Port Alberni, said he had been preparing to shoot the expected meteor shower Monday and instead headed out to capture images of the fast-growing wildfire.
"The entire mountain was completely engulfed in less than 30 hours, so just like, ravaging, explosive fire," he said in an interview on Wednesday.
"Trees were basically combusting, I hear that is how fir trees work, though. They have a high resistance until they kind of give up and then explode and release their sap. So you'd see, kind of looking like a candle going off in the distance."
The fire was blanketing the area with thick smoke, Rex O'Neill said.
An update from the wildfire service earlier Wednesday said the blaze had been displaying rank four and five behaviour on a six-point scale.
"This is a highly vigorous surface fire with torching or passive crown fire and some active crown fire," it said, adding the behaviour was "unusual" for the region.
With rain and higher humidity in the forecast, Desrosiers said the blaze was less likely to show crown fire unless winds pick up substantially.
She attributed the unusually severe fire behaviour to a drought that has gripped Vancouver Island this spring and summer.
"With that absence of rain since May, that has certainly resulted in the aggressive fire behaviour," she said, adding strong winds were also a factor on Monday.
Looking ahead, Desrosiers said there is some rain in the forecast, but crews won't be counting on it to bring the fire under control.
"If we do receive a significant amount of precipitation, it will certainly reduce fire behaviour," she said. "However, due to the drought conditions that we're experiencing on Vancouver Island, it would take a significant amount of rain over a longer period to really penetrate the ground and to extinguish the fire."
The main road linking Port Alberni and Bamfield has been closed, though an alternative route, which includes logging roads, was available through Youbou.
Bamfield has lost power, with the wildfire service telling anyone who doesn't live there to stay away from the community of about 200 residents.
The community is a frequent stop for people hiking the 75-kilometre West Coast Trail, which has an entry or exit point at Pachena Bay, about 5 1/2 kilometres away.
A statement from Parks Canada on Wednesday said the fire wasn't affecting the trail and it remained open, although communities that support hikers have asked visitors to delay all non-essential travel until the situation stabilizes.
The agency said it was not taking new reservations for the trail or Keeha Beach, and hikers could be asked to leave the trail at Nitinaht Narrows, about the midway point of the hike, where they would be taken by bus to retrieve their vehicles.
The China Creek Regional Park was evacuated late Monday, and the wildfire service said structure protection work had been completed for that site along with private campgrounds, forestry mills and log-sorting facilities in the area.
Desrosiers is part of an incident management team that has moved in to take command of both the Mount Underwood fire and another in the region.
There were three initial attack and three unit crews responding to the blaze on Wednesday, along with five helicopters and other aircraft, the wildfire service said.
The service also noted a drone was reportedly flying in the area on Tuesday.
"This type of activity is extremely dangerous and poses a significant safety risk to personnel, especially when low-flying firefighting aircraft are present," it said.
The Mount Underwood fire is burning about 19 kilometres southwest of the Westley Ridge fire, which had forced the evacuation of several hundred homes on the north side of Cameron Lake, about 60 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo.
Some properties in the Little Qualicum Village area remain under evacuation order.
A provincial situation report from the wildfire service said a "weak cold front" would move southeast across B.C. on Wednesday, bringing isolated thunderstorms and strong winds to eastern parts of the central and southern Interior.
But it said little rain was expected, and much of the southern Interior would remain hot, dry, and windy — conditions that could increase fire behaviour.
There were about 90 active wildfires in B.C. on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
