Firefighters prevent Vancouver Island wildfire from growing overnight, despite 40 km/h winds

Vancouver -

A local state of emergency remained in effect Sunday in the Mount Prevost area of the Cowichan Valley Regional District, as fire crews continued to battle a 32-hectare wildfire.

The fire, previously known as the Holyoak Creek fire, has been renamed the Copper Canyon wildfire, according to Dorothe Jakobson, fire information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre.

Firefighters dealt with 40-kilometre-per-hour wind gusts overnight, and the area where the blaze is burning saw no precipitation on Saturday, Jakobson said. Despite these challenging conditions, the fire had not grown as of Sunday morning.

"The crews worked very hard and were able to hold the fire, so there was no growth overnight, it's still 32 hectares," Jakobson said.

Though it hasn't grown, the fire was still classified as out of control Sunday.

The Copper Canyon fire has been burning in remote, difficult terrain since Aug. 5. One property on Mount Prevost Road has been ordered to evacuate as a result of the wildfire.

More than 30 firefighters have been battling the blaze with support from five helicopters.

Among the crews on the ground are several members of the BC Wildfire Service's "parattack" team, who parachuted into the remote area on Friday.

Jakobson told CTV News it's the first time the parattack team has been deployed on Vancouver Island. The tactic is used more commonly in B.C.'s north, she said, noting that the inaccessibility of the terrain where the Copper Canyon fire is burning made it a good candidate to be the island's first parattack site.

The wildfire is believed to be human-caused.