Hundreds of residents who were forced out by a wildfire burning near Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island are being allowed to return home.
The Regional District of Nanaimo has posted an update removing 257 properties from its evacuation order, although residents remain on alert and must be ready to leave right away.
The district says 37 properties in Little Qualicum River Village remain under evacuation order due to the six-square kilometre wildfire that is now classified as being held.
The BC Wildfire Service updated the status of the Wesley Ridge blaze, burning about 60 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo, saying it’s not expected to grow beyond its existing containment lines.
An update from the BC Wildfire Service shows another blaze that had forced a tactical evacuation of about 25 homes near Kelowna, B.C., over the weekend is no longer expected to grow beyond its 2.5-hectare perimeter.
All residents evacuated Sunday can now return home, while Central Okanagan Emergency Operations says three addresses are subject to evacuation alerts.
An update from the wildfire service on Monday says the Wesley Ridge fire did not grow Sunday and was displaying mostly rank-one fire behaviour, a “smouldering ground fire with no open flame.”
The service says crews were continuing efforts to improve containment lines while directly attacking the fire along its northern, western and eastern flanks.
The wildfire service had warned that fire behaviour could intensify with hot, dry and windy weather in southern parts of B.C., where Environment Canada has issued a series of heat warnings stretching from the coast to the Kamloops area.
The weather agency says eastern and inland parts of Vancouver Island as well as the Sunshine Coast and the Sea to Sky region will see daytime highs reaching 30 C.
The mercury was expected to hit 33 C in Metro Vancouver, while temperatures near 35 C were expected in the Fraser Canyon, South Thompson and South Okanagan areas.
There are just under 100 active fires across B.C., with 11 classified as burning out of control. About 105 fires have been declared out in the last seven days.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2025.
Chuck Chiang and Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
