The City of Port Alberni and Tseshaht First have lifted evacuation alerts put in place covering Cameron Heights and Tiipis. Those alerts were in place due to the Mount Underwood wildfire.
Evacuation orders from the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District have been downgraded to alerts in some areas. People are now able to access the China Creek Campground via Franklin River Road and Headquarters Bay Recreation Community via a long detour through Youbou Road.
China Creek Falls is still within the evacuation order area, meaning people are not permitted to go there.
Those who do go to China Creek Campground or Headquarters Bay should note they are still under evacuation alert. That means people visiting those spaces should be prepared to leave quickly if conditions with the fire change.
“The redesignation from an evacuation order to an alert is welcome news,” said ACRD Board Chair John Jack in a news release. “We should remain vigilant, but the progress of those fighting the fire and the weather has given us reason to hope.”
The fire's perimeter is estimated to be 3,603 hectares. It is showing mostly rank one fire behaviour, which means it is a smouldering ground fire with few open flames.
While recent weather has given BC Wildfire Service the chance to work on creating more guards, wet lines and removing fuels, warmer weather is expected to produce more smoke in the coming days. That smoke will help firefighters determine where to target their efforts.
