705 replies to this topic

[max.bravo]

From the same source. To me it sounds like the fire is basically out now.

The Mount Underwood wildfire received 17.4 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours, resulting in minimal fire activity today.

Very minimal growth has been observed since yesterday morning.

An additional 10 to 30 millimetres of rain is forecast

[lanforod]

Hopefully this also cleared the air nicely!

[max.bravo]

Great update video from BCWS on mount underwood yesterday.
https://youtu.be/GQS...wPU8UXJthk1DUE1

[Mike K.]

This thing has been largely halted thanks to the rains. 3,400 to 3,671 hectares between Thursday and this AM.

Before, it would pretty much double every day or just about double. They’re going to get this thing under control now, which this incredible lucky shift in the weather.

[max.bravo]

But 3,600 ha was never burning all at once.
https://www.timescol...it-out-11084314

The wildfire service noted the reported size of a fire doesn’t mean that everything within the ­boundaries is actively burning.

“Inside that outline, some spots are still burning, and others are just blackened ground where the flames have already passed,” the service said. “We track and provide the size based on the outline, or fire perimeter, because we want everyone to know where the fire’s edge is, and stay well away.

“So if you hear the fire has grown, remember it doesn’t mean the entire area is on fire at once and doesn’t tell the whole story.”

[max.bravo]

If you look at the video above you can see that large trees and stumps are not burnt up. This fire is good for the forest. It clears the dead brush and windfall. Healthy trees stay alive.

[max.bravo]

We should just let these fires burn unless they actively threaten a settlement.

Everything gets extinguished by winter rains no matter how big the fire was in August.

[Mike K.]

And just burn up bridges, destabilize slopes and destroy electrical infrastructure?

I mean we could do that, but at what cost to society? This fire was only a few kilometers from the Port Alberni city limits. At the rate it was spreading, it was just two days away from reach the city.

[max.bravo]

So protect the city and any bridges you want to keep. Let the rest burn. Hydro cut lines are already taken care of.

I’m just not sure we need to pay 136 people and 11 helicopters to keep empty scrub brush from burning up - something that the forest actually needs to be healthy.

[Victoria Watcher]

I agree. Some very isolated properties or even small villages can be allowed to burn, if they have not taken care of their own preventative mitigation measures.

[Victoria Watcher]

It could take up to two weeks for electricity to be restored in Bamfield, said B.C. Hydro Saturday.

 

[...]

 

The company said 56 power poles will need to be replaced, and crews will have to restring 70 spans of power line, totalling around 20 kilometres in length.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-weeks-11086535

[dasmo]

All the clear cuts in the area change the fire equation. Both the idea of letting them burn and that they help them burn. Especially if they are spraying the area with glyphosate.

[Matt R.]

This whole roundup spraying, isn’t it just for hydro or rail rights of way?

[dasmo]

This whole roundup spraying, isn’t it just for hydro or rail rights of way?

Nope. It’s to keep the broadleaf down in cut blocks. You can learn more here if you like. https://thenarwhal.c...stry-explainer/

[LJ]

 

It could take up to two weeks for electricity to be restored in Bamfield, said B.C. Hydro Saturday.

 

[...]

 

The company said 56 power poles will need to be replaced, and crews will have to restring 70 spans of power line, totalling around 20 kilometres in length.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-weeks-11086535

 

And because the road is closed the crews have to come in via Duncan which adds two hours travel each way. Gives them about a 4 hour workday or else overtime.

[Mike K.]

I’m sure they’ll dispatch crews that originate from Cowichan.

[Victoria Watcher]

She lost her home, cats and prosthetic leg in the Western Bay fire. But she's determined to go back

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...erald-1.7612935

[Victoria Watcher]

B.C. Hydro says crews have restored power for more than 500 customers in Bamfield after a wildfire caused extensive damage to infrastructure outside Port Alberni.

The utility said dozens of technicians and vegetation-management personnel have been working since Aug. 16 to fix the fire-damaged infrastructure and were confronted with extremely challenging terrain impacted by the Mount Underwood wildfire.

Crews put in 63 new poles and 65 new power lines along a six-kilometre stretch, portions of which were on "steep, unstable terrain," and the most challenging part has a temporary fix that will be made permanent when conditions improve.



https://www.timescol...mfield-11115566

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 August 2025 - 09:38 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Good work. Well ahead of worst-case estimated schedule.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 August 2025 - 09:40 AM.

[Mike K.]

Yes, good work.

Hydro crews are unsung heroes. When we get major outages out my way, and you see the battalion of trucks passing by in the dead of winter during a storm, you can’t help but feel fortunate to still have a society where an armada like this exists.