{"id":117887,"date":"2025-08-04T09:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T09:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/117887\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T09:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T09:53:09","slug":"wesley-ridge-wildfire-in-b-c-burns-in-difficult-terrain-posing-a-challenge-for-firefighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/117887\/","title":{"rendered":"Wesley Ridge wildfire in B.C. burns in difficult terrain, posing a challenge for firefighters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A wildfire near Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island early on Saturday morning. The out-of-control fire has been chewing through the densely forested hills on the lake\u2019s northern shore.Colby Rex O’Neill\/Supplied<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the sounds of the wildfire at Cameron Lake that alarm Colby Rex O\u2019Neill the most.<\/p>\n

The gunshot-like noise of trees exploding, followed by the earth-shaking crash as they fall. The thunderous clap as overheated boulders split, then roll down the hillside, splashing into the lake. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds like the end of the earth. It\u2019s just surreal. It\u2019s like a something out of Lord of the Rings,\u201d said Mr. Rex O\u2019Neill said, a photographer and documentary filmmaker.<\/p>\n

The deep, clear mountain lake, located 15 kilometres east of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, is popular with swimmers, fishers and windsurfers alike. But for the past three days, an out-of-control wildfire has been chewing through the densely forested hills on the lake\u2019s northern shore, creating nightmarish scenes and choking smoke. <\/p>\n

Heat warnings, air-quality alerts abound for long weekend as destructive wildfire season continues<\/a><\/p>\n

So far, nearly 400 nearby properties, as well as a provincial park, have been ordered evacuated. Mr. Rex O\u2019Neill\u2019s home is one of 238 currently on evacuation alert north and east of Cameron Lake, and he believes that he will be ordered out in the coming days.<\/p>\n

The fire, named the Wesley Ridge wildfire, was discovered on Thursday. It is believed to have been human-caused. <\/p>\n

Officials estimate the fire has ballooned to 389 hectares in size, owing to strong winds. But BC Wildfire Service notes that smoky conditions are making it hard to map a precise perimeter.<\/p>\n

Fighting Wesley Ridge is proving tough: The fire is burning in inaccessible, steep, challenging terrain, with lots of available timber, said fire officer Madison Dahl. More than 140 firefighters were responding to it on Sunday. The Regional District of Nanaimo said firefighting operations will continue to prioritize the protection of residences and critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Wesley Ridge is one of 146 active fires in B.C., and 744 burning across Canada. Wildfires<\/a> have so far chewed through 6.6 million hectares this summer, the bulk in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.<\/p>\n

Ms. Dahl noted Sunday that Vancouver Island has entered a period of drought. While the region may see some rain on Wednesday, \u201cwe will require a significant amount of rainfall to make significant changes to the fire\u2019s behaviour,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A helicopter flies by the Wesley Ridge wildfire near Cameron Lake on Sunday.CHAD HIPOLITO\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Highway 4 \u2013 also known as the Pacific Rim Highway \u2013 remains open in both directions. The road, which winds along the spine of the Vancouver Island Ranges from Port Alberni to Tofino, is the main route connecting the island\u2019s West Coast with its east side. Officials are asking drivers not to stop, and to proceed with caution near the fire.<\/p>\n

Two summers ago, a wildfire at Cameron Bluffs on the lake\u2019s southern shore closed Highway 4 for almost three weeks, causing significant harm to the regional economy.<\/p>\n

But Wesley Ridge is much worse, said Mr. Rex O\u2019Neill, whose home was also threatened by the June, 2023 fire: \u201cThe last one seemed intense. But it was small by comparison.\u201d <\/p>\n

What most concerns is Cathedral Grove, describing it as \u201ca national treasure. And it\u2019s just eight minutes from here by car.\u201d The magnificent stand of old growth forest is home to some of Canada\u2019s oldest and tallest trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cFire has been haunting me,\u201d added Mr. Rex O\u2019Neill, who isn\u2019t sleeping much. He spends his nights monitoring the fire\u2019s approach and snapping photos: \u201cAt least when I focus on getting the shot, I\u2019m not thinking about what might happen next.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A wildfire near Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island early on Saturday morning. The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":117888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2148,2138,671,104,2132,692,2147,2131,2143,2144,2140,2133,2130,79,407,746,2142,2137,2159,2134,2135,454,2139,1165,728,2149,108,2154,2155,50,2157,2152,2156,2150,2153,2136,85,2146,80,2145,2151,1458,158,1164,2141,1154,107,2158],"class_list":{"0":"post-117887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-life-news","31":"tag-lifestyle","32":"tag-local-news","33":"tag-manitoba","34":"tag-national-news","35":"tag-new-brunswick","36":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","37":"tag-news","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-travel","52":"tag-trudeau","53":"tag-us-news","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}