Crews fighting an out-of-control wildfire on Vancouver Island are building helipads to improve access to the flames burning on challenging, rocky terrain.
An operational updated posted by the BC Wildfire Service said firefighters are working to prevent further westward growth of the fire below the bluffs on Cameron Lake.
The update said higher upslope, the western edge of the fire is burning in an area with limited ground access, so the helipads will improve access for a direct attack.
Crews and equipment from 22 fire departments across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan are working on the fire, which measures about 5.7 square kilometres.
Residents of more than 100 properties forced to leave their homes last week were allowed to return on Wednesday, though an evacuation order issued by the Regional District of Nanaimo remains in effect for others.
Douglas Holmes, director of the regional district's emergency operations centre, told a news conference Thursday that about 30 people came back to check on their properties on the first day the order was lifted, but he doesn't believe anyone stayed the night.
Holmes said about 300 addresses remain under evacuation order and 353 are on alert.
“We are extremely eager and very focused on getting everyone home. It’s too early to provide a time estimate on rescinding further orders, but please know we have dozens of people working on that task,” he said.
In the Fraser Canyon, where a fire burning near Lytton is now considered held, the Skuppah Indian Band rescinded its evacuation for properties that had been threatened by the blaze.
The Cariboo Regional District rescinded an evacuation alert related to the Mount Davidson fire, saying the threat to life and safety has passed.
The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako downgraded an evacuation order to an alert northwest of the Nechako River and also lifted an alert related to a different fire near the Endako mine northwest of Prince George.
The number of wildfires burning across the province is on the decline after more than doubling during a spate of hot, dry conditions and thunderstorms that produced tens of thousands of lightning strikes across the province last week.
On Thursday, the BC Wildfire Service website showed 105 active blazes, with seven started in the last 24 hours, while more than 160 fires have been declared out over the last week.
A bulletin from the wildfire service on Thursday said cooler, wetter weather will persist another day in many regions of B.C. with the chance of heavy downpours in the southeast.
The storms could bring lightning, but that will come with rain, decreasing the likelihood of new fire starts, it says.
The service said much of the province will enter a warming trend Friday and through the weekend, with potential for dry lightning from the Chilcotin through the southern Interior and into the Boundary region.
"The weekend is expected to bring elevated wind speeds, which could intensify fire activity where there are fires already burning on the landscape," the statement said.
Environment Canada forecasts for Sunday predict daytime highs of 26 C in Vancouver, 32 C in Kelowna, 33 C in Nelson and 36 C in Lytton.
About two dozen wildfires are classified as burning out of control.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press
