Busload of B.C. students stranded by wildfire spend the night inside Vancouver Island high school
A busload of high school students were finally heading home to Nanaimo on Wednesday after they were stranded by a raging wildfire that forced them to spend the night inside a Port Alberni high school.
The approximately 50 students and their chaperones were meant to return Tuesday from a field trip to Tofino, a roughly three-hour drive from Nanaimo.
However, an aggressive wildfire burning along the only highway linking Tofino with the rest of British Columbia prompted provincial officials to close the highway due to debris obstructing the roadway and ongoing concerns about potential landslides.
BUS EMBARKS ON DETOUR ROUTE
British Columbia's Transportation Ministry established an emergency detour route around the fire site at Cameron Lake on Wednesday using logging roads that connect Port Alberni to the tiny community of Youbou, approximately one hour southwest of Nanaimo.
The students were still on the bus Wednesday afternoon after packing up their sleeping mats and leaving first thing in the morning to avoid disrupting regular classes at the Port Alberni school.
"At this time, we have not yet received an update from the group," Dale Burgos, spokesperson for Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools, told CTV News on Wednesday afternoon.
The school district spokesperson said Port Alberni community members donated blankets and pillows to the students, while their families back home were kept up to date on the situation via email.
WILDFIRE STILL GROWING
The Cameron Bluffs wildfire, located approximately 20 kilometres east of Port Alberni, grew to nearly one and a half square kilometres Wednesday afternoon.
With 26 firefighters, five helicopters and multiple air tankers attacking the blaze, the fire remains out of control, according to the latest update from the B.C. Wildfire Service.
The provincial agency says the fire is approximately four kilometres east of Cathedral Grove, a popular tourist attraction that is home to a collection of ancient Douglas fir trees.
The wildfire service and the B.C. Ministry of Transportation have not yet reached a determination on when Highway 4 may fully reopen, with officials saying they will rely on the recommendations of slope stability experts before reaching a decision.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.