Vancouver Island wildfire expected to continue for 'several days' as highway remains closed
Wildfire officials are sending an additional 20 firefighters to help battle an out-of-control blaze that has burned more than two square kilometres of forest and cut off a major highway on Vancouver Island.
The additional crews will join more than 60 firefighting personnel already on the ground at the Cameron Bluffs wildfire east of Port Alberni.
Several air tankers, firefighting helicopters and other pieces of heavy equipment continue to battle the blaze, which has grown to 208 hectares since it was first reported Sunday.
Light rain proved favourable for fire crews on Friday morning, however efforts to get the fire under control are far from over.
"We'll still be working this fire for the next several days," Bryce Moreira, incident commander for the Cameron Bluffs fire, told reporters Friday.
He said crews have been working to safeguard the nearby ancient forest of Cathedral Grove on the fire's western flank while aerial bombers attack the eastern flank as weather conditions permit.
Much of the fire's growth over the past few days has been in the rugged, mountainous terrain on the fire's southern edge, Moreira added.
WILDFIRE DETOUR CLOSED
The wildfire, which is believed to be human-caused, forced the province to close Highway 4 on Wednesday, cutting off the only highway connecting the communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet with the rest of B.C.
A four-hour detour route around the fire has been established, however the detour was scheduled to close for most of the day Friday while workers attempted to retrieve a vehicle that had rolled off the treacherous gravel road and into Francis Lake.
"There are no dangers to life, structures or critical infrastructure with the Cameron Bluffs fire at this time," Kimberly Kelly, a fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, said.
"This fire is adequately resourced and is a high priority provincially" due to the highway closure and the fire's proximity to Cathedral Grove, she added.
The provincial wildfire service says the blaze is among 82 active wildfires in the province, with 29 wildfires considered out of control.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.