The highest-profile wildfire in British Columbia, which triggered several evacuation orders on Vancouver Island last week, is no longer burning out of control.
The BC Wildfire Service reclassified the Mount Underwood fire near Port Alberni as being held late Wednesday at about 35 square kilometres, saying it was projected to remain within its current perimeter.
The fire, which retained its classification as B.C.'s only wildfire of note, showed aggressive, intense behaviour after being discovered early last week before being tempered by significant rainfall over the weekend.
A wildfire of note has an increased level of interest due to visibility or threat to residents and infrastructure.
Fire Information Officer Julia Caranci said Thursday that about 40 millimetres of rain had fallen on the fire in the last five days, compared with only seven millimetres in the two months before the fire ignited.
"There were several conditions that happened at the start of this fire that caused that explosive growth that we saw in those first 48 hours," Caranci said.
"Number 1 was a drought and extremely dry conditions with almost no rain over that previous two months compared with the normal average for that time of year.
"Secondly, it was that the fire started at the bottom of a slope, and then winds aligned as well. So we had those three conditions that aligned that pushed that fire very aggressively upslope."
Some evacuation orders and alerts were downgraded Wednesday by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, the City of Port Alberni and the Tseshaht First Nation.
In its Thursday update, the regional district said fire behaviour at Mount Underwood has been brought down to "a smouldering ground fire with no open flame."
However, nearby Bamfield continues to be without power and its main road access. The regional district said that while not all operations have resumed, the community is now open for business.
"The community is welcoming back visitors, but asking them to be prepared for the road conditions and ready for some restrictions the power outage may create," the update said.
The closure of the road connecting Port Alberni to the Huu-ay-aht and Ditidaht First Nations has troubled the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, which said on Wednesday that without propane deliveries, the Ditidaht community could lose its water supply.
The council said the system was powered by propane and deliveries along an alternative logging road have been refused.
In a post on social media, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said he was grateful to fire and emergency crews who worked to protect communities close to the fire.
BC Hydro has said that it's aiming to have power restored for Aug. 30, as a six-kilometre span of power infrastructure was destroyed and must be rebuilt.
There are about 60 active wildfires burning across B.C., including two burning out of control. Those are both in remote parts of northeastern B.C. and no evacuation orders or alerts are associated with them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025.
Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press
