Wildfire burning out of control near Port Alberni reaches 20 hectares

By Monday the Cameron Bluffs fire had grown to 20 hectares, with eight firefighters and one helicopter attacking the blaze in the steep terrain. (CTV News)

A wildfire that has been burning out of control on Vancouver Island since Sunday morning is now estimated to cover approximately 20 hectares of dense forest near Port Alberni.

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the Cameron Bluffs fire was discovered around 6 a.m. Sunday when it measured less than half a hectare on the southern shore of Cameron Lake.

By Monday the fire had grown to 20 hectares, with eight firefighters and one helicopter attacking the blaze in the steep terrain.

The wildfire service says the fire is highly visible from Highway 4. The agency urged drivers to use caution and focus on the road when travelling through the area.

"There is no threat to the highway or Cameron Lake resort areas," the agency said in an online update on the fire situation.

"Boaters on Cameron Lake should stay clear of helicopter bucketing dip sites. The CPR trail remains open at this time."

Provincial wildfire officials say the fire is believed to be human-caused.

Meanwhile, a 208-hectare wildfire, the largest of the season for B.C.'s coastal region, continues to burn near Sayward on northern Vancouver Island.

The wildfire service says the Newcastle Creek fire is currently being held five kilometres west of Sayward and no evacuation orders are expected.

The agency says 84 fires were actively burning in the province Monday, with 24 fires considered out of control.

Forty-two of the current fires are suspected to have been caused by lightning, 33 are believed to have been caused by people and nine are of unknown origin, according to the agency.