Fire crews continue making progress on the Wesley Ridge wildfire burning north of Cameron Lake, with smoke starting to affect communities south of the out-of-control fire. This picture was taken from the morning of Tuesday, Aug 5. (BC Wildfire Service)

By Jordan Davidson

steady work

No overnight growth at Wesley Ridge wildfire still considered ‘out of control’

Aug 5, 2025 | 1:18 PM

PARKSVILLE — Progress is steady on the out of control wildfire north of Cameron Lake, with minimal growth detected overnight.

The Wesley Ridge wildfire remains at 511 hectares, or around 5 kilometres in size as of Tuesday afternoon, and is currently the only ‘Wildfire of Note’ burning in the province.

Fire information officer Madison Dahl said helicopters with night-vision worked the fire.

“Overnight, there was minimal growth on the Wesley Ridge wildfire. Fire behaviour was rank one, which is a smouldering ground fire with no open flame, and there was no growth in the northeast corner, in the area of the Little Qualicum River Village and park community.”

She said the fire zone’s northwest corner had the most fire activity overnight, but emphasized there are no structures or critical infrastructures in the area.

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Dahl said there have been no reports of residential structures being lost, and no reports of injuries to civilians or firefighters.

“Aircraft continue to support ground operations, moving crews and dropping water to cool the fire and facilitate direct and indirect activities. Fallers and crews are working to assess and fall danger trees, creating a safe and workable environment for our crews,” Dahl told a mid-day media briefing.

A little over 200 firefighting personnel are fighting the blaze, including eight pieces of heavy equipment, seven helicopters, while land-based planes and skimmers are being used as required.

Evacuation orders remain in place for 387 residential addresses in the region, including the Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park, campground and day use area.

A few streets were added to the evacuation alert Monday night, including properties along Lakeview Rd. on Spider Lake, Marshland Rd. and Spider Lake Rd, for a total of 250 people currently on evacuation alert.

A complete list of all areas under evacuation orders and alerts can be found here at the Regional District of Nanaimo website.

RDN chief administrative officer and director of emergency operations Douglas Holmes said they currently have no timeline for when evacuated residents will be able to return to their homes.

He said they’re working with local fire departments and the BC Wildfire Service to determine when they’ll be able to assess the area.

“We’re working with…those two types of responders, to determine when can we get back to the site, how early we can get back to the site to do an assessment of what’s there on the ground, so we can determine a plan for getting people back in the house. It’s too early to give specific times.”

He said around 509 evacuees have already received support.

Holmes said while they’re grateful for people eager to donate their time or items to the evacuees currently at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, they ask the public to hold on to them for now, and do not go to the centre unless you’re an evacuee.

A few more streets are under evacuation alert as of Tuesday morning due to the wildfire burning north of Cameron Lake. (BC Wildfire Service)

Local firefighters from Coombs and Dashwood continue providing aid through mainly structure protection, including members of the Comox and Oyster River fire departments.

Comox Fire Rescue assistant chief Jim Lariviere said they’ve set up protection areas around multiple structures on both sides of Cameron Lake.

“Our trailer is called a type two, so it’s got a certain amount of pumps and stuff like that on there. But the province has brought in two of their big type ones, which is like a tractor-trailer rig, and it’s a ton of equipment, so there’s quite a few homes you can protect.”

He said their structural protection unit is a crew of five, along with their unit trailer and two pickup trucks, allows them to respond quickly to where they’re needed.

“They were concentrating on Little Qualicum River, but they’ve been all around. They’ve been tasked for different areas, so they’re mobile. They just hook up the trailer and take their two vehicles and off they go, or they leave the trailer for another crew to work and then they go and get equipment somewhere else.”

Cameron Lake remains completely closed, while the Horne Lake boat launch has also been shut down.

Anyone in the area is asked to stay completely off Cameron Lake and stay well clear of firefighting operations on Horne Lake and Spider Lake to avoid any potential conflicts.

The Regional District of Nanaimo said they do not expect any impacts to travel along Hwy. 4 as a result of the fire, however, the provincial government has placed traffic control at both ends of the corridor to adjust traffic flows on short notice if needed.

The province also asks anyone travelling through the still-open Cathedral Grove to continue through and not stop on the highway.

Located on the west side of Cameron Lake, Cathedral Grove is currently not threatened by the wildfire.

The fire is still suspected to be human-caused, as they continue to investigate what sparked the wildfire on Thursday.

– with files from 97.3 FM The Eagle

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