A burned section of forest from the Mount Underwood wildfire, southwest of Port Alberni, B.C., on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service
A wildfire near Port Alberni, B.C., that spurred evacuations and a state of local emergency last week has been downgraded again, leaving the province without any wildfires of note.
The BC Wildfire Service said the Mount Underwood fire lost fire-of-note status on Thursday, meaning it was no longer “especially visible” or posing a threat to public safety, after it was doused by 40 millimetres of rain over the past week.
The service had announced a day earlier that the fire was being held, meaning it was not expected to spread beyond its current 35-square-kilometre size.
The Wildfire Service said in a statement the last time the province was without any fire of note was between July 10 and 30, and the classification is based on attention from the public and has no bearing on resourcing.
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The Mount Underwood fire had shown aggressive growth in initial days after being discovered on Aug. 11, forcing the sudden evacuation of a nearby campground and leading to several other evacuation orders and alerts.
Most of those have now been lifted, but the road between Port Alberni and nearby Bamfield remains closed, and communities say they are facing challenges getting propane needed for generators because some truck drivers are refusing to use an alternative forestry road.
BC Hydro said Thursday it was making good progress on restoring power to the area and may be able to complete the work a few days earlier than the original projected goal of Aug. 30.
BC Hydro said late Friday that it expected power in the area to be back by Saturday evening, a few days earlier than the original estimate of Aug. 30.
There are about 60 active wildfires in B.C., and only two in the province’s northeast remain out of control.