Wednesday August 13, 2025 | PORT ALBERNI, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The ‘explosive’ growth of a wildfire near Port Alberni is unusual for Vancouver Island, says the BC Wildfire Service.
The Mount Underwood wildfire (Fire Number V71498) near saw an expanded footprint overnight, after doubling in size Tuesday.
The wildfire was first reported on Monday August 11 and is a wildfire of note.
The fire, which this afternoon, August 13, is now estimated to be 2,156 hectares in size (at 6:18 pm), and is exhibiting “extreme fire behaviour”, according to the BC Wildfire Service. The size of the fire is expected to increase.
The City of Port Alberni, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and the Tseshaht First Nation have issued local states of emergency.
Five helicopters, five skimmers, a birddog plane, three initial attack crews and three unit crews are responding to the Mount Underwood fire.
Due to wildfire smoke, an air quality advisory has been issued for inland Vancouver Island, east Vancouver Island from Nanoose Bay to Fanny Bay and for the Sunshine Coast from Saltery Bay to Powell River.
A shift in the winds has now pushed the fire more from the south to the north, which has led crews to focus on the northwest flank, which is closest to Port Alberni.
The population of Port Alberni is about 18,000 people, with a count of about 31,000 in the wider region.
This Underwood wildfire cropped up just a day after the Wesley Ridge wildfire in the same central Vancouver Island region.
Temperatures have been in the high 20°C range, into the low 30s. There might be some rain tomorrow, but the last two weeks have seen nearly zero precipitation. Vancouver Island has been in a drought condition for a few years now (as winter precipitation never quite brings spring moisture levels back to normal.
===== RELATED:
Day 12: Wesley Ridge wildfire no longer ‘of note’ (August 12, 2025)
NEWS SECTIONS: WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT | VANCOUVER ISLAND