The Wesley Ridge wildfire burning north of Cameron Lake since July 31 is now considered 'being held' at 588 hectares in size as of Monday, Aug. 11. (BC Wildfire Service)

By Jordan Davidson

being held

Wesley Ridge wildfire threat eases, listed as ‘being held’

Aug 11, 2025 | 10:03 AM

PARKSVILLE — After over ten days of fire crews working day and night on the Wesley Ridge wildfire, BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) officials declared the fire is no longer burning out of control.

At 588 hectares in size, the wildfire burning north of Cameron Lake since July 31, was marked as ‘being held’ as of 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 11, meaning it is expected to remain within its current perimeter, but it is still considered the only ‘wildfire of note’ in the province.

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) also announced as of Monday morning at 11:00 a.m., the evacuation order for 257 properties in Little Qualicum River Village has been lifted for those living below 1726 Warn Way, and will now be under evacuation alert.

A total of 353 properties are now on an evacuation alert, with 37 properties in the Village still under evacuation order.

More details on the properties under evacuation order and alert can be found here.

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During an update on the wildfire Monday morning, fire information officer Madison Dahl said despite this change in the fire’s status, smoky conditions are expected to persist.

“With this drought, and these warm and dry weather conditions, we’re going to continue seeing smoke from the Wesley Ridge wildfire for weeks, if not months. The smoke is coming from well within the fire perimeter where the fire is working its way through unburned areas and consuming those available fuels.”

She said the fire didn’t grow on Sunday, and continues to display mostly rank one fire behaviour, meaning a smouldering ground fire with no open flame, with isolated pockets of rank two and three, mostly along the western edge in steep terrain away from homes or infrastructure.

Dahl said 186 firefighter personnel remain on the ground, including 167 firefighters, 12 tree fallers, 11 pieces of heavy equipment, and nine helicopters, along with drones being used overnight to scan for hot spots.

She said the fire had minimal growth over the weekend, increasing to 5.9 square kilometres on Sunday, up only slightly from the 5.8 square kilometres reported the day before.

The Wesley Ridge wildfire is now considered ‘being held’, with no growth seen since Sunday. (BC Wildfire Service)

RDN emergency operations director Douglas Holmes said while there is still more work to be done, this is a “terrific day” for those evacuated properties being allowed to return home.

He said those returning to their properties should be prepared for the area to look different and be mindful of ongoing wildfire operations.

“After a wildfire…coming home can be pretty overwhelming. There’s going to be lots of smoke around for quite some time, and people have to be very very careful around their properties that are approximate to the forest. While the flames are out, there will be smoke happening for some time, and because there is smoke, that means there’s hot pieces in the forest and people should stay away from the forests and stick to their properties.”

A third of evacuated properties north of Cameron Lake were allowed to return home last week.

While there have been no reported injuries or damage to homes or major infrastructure, at least two railway trestle bridges in the area have been destroyed, with at least one more suffering major damage.

Steep terrain and limited water supply proved challenging for firefighters in the area, with nearby Spider and Horne Lake being used to resupply helicopters and air tankers with water.

United Way British Columbia launched a Wildfire Recovery Fund to help non-profits in the area who are assisting those forced to evacuate due to the wildfire.

— with files from The Canadian Press.

A photo from Aug. 10 showing the area affected by the Wesley Ridge wildfire. (BC Wildfire Service)

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