The Mount Underwood fire's perimeter has grown to 3,671 hectares in size but BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the recent 33 millimetres of rainfall has helped.
"The result of the rain has been that we've been able to get good, accurate mapping. We've been able to identify where the perimeter sits and get our crews real close to the fire," Stefan Hood, the incident commander for both the Mount Underwood and now under control Wesley Ridge fire said. "They're working primarily in the northwest to achieve our objectives of limiting spread towards our priority values."
Those priority values include the City of Port Alberni. Crews are also working on the south side of the fire to try to contain its spread in that direction as well. In the short- term, more weather that will help firefighters is expected.
"What we're not seeing is a return to the hot and dry conditions that resulted in the initial spread of this fire," Hood said. "The rain has quieted down the fire behaviour, we're mainly seeing just a smouldering ground fire. There are still some open flames out there and we continue to see that, but that's certainly a lot better than we had just a few days ago."
Hood said the fire is displaying rank one and rank two behaviour. Rank one fires are smouldering ground fires without open flames that slowly spread. Rank two fires have small open flames and a slow rate of spread. These types of fires can both be fought by ground crews, removing flammable material from an area can help prevent its spread.
The fire was previously rank four and rank five, with open flames raging all the way up trees and a faster spread.
Hood added the rain can increase the risk for debris, like trees falling, but said BCWS crews are trained to handle those situations and know how to adapt to changing conditions.
BC Wildfire Service has 168 firefighters working on the Mount Underwood fire along with 11 helicopters that are working on both Wesley Ridge and Mount Underwood. The improved conditions also mean it is easier for that air support to drop water on the fire.
While evacuation orders and alerts haven't been lifted, officials say today is a good news day.
Within the city, an evacuation alert is in place for Cameron Heights on the southern part of town. That alert means people should be prepared to leave if conditions change, but do not yet need to evacuate.
"No areas of Port Alberni are currently under evacuation order requiring anyone to leave," said mayor Sharie Minions. "We do continue to want our community to be vigilant, even as we see improvements with the fire."
Yesterday the city and regional district opened a facility for people who needed to get away from the poor air quality that came with the smoke. The air quality advisory that was previously in place has now been lifted. The centre, at the Alberni Valley Multiplex, remains open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for anyone struggling with the air quality conditions.
The city has also put water restrictions into place as a precaution to preserve the city's drinking water. Lawn watering, filling pools and hot tubs, washing cars and pressure washing are prohibited in the city at this time.
Minions also noted the impact the fire is having on local businesses.
"I've spoken to many business owners over the past few days who have had to either close their businesses, scale back operations or change their hours as a result of the smoke," she said. Minions added the city is pushing the local government for resources and advised businesses to reach out to the chamber of commerce to share if the fire is affecting them.
The fire is around eight kilometres from the city, but there remains no immediate threat to Port Alberni.
