Mt Underwood Archive

Mount Underwood Archive Material

Road Status

The Ministry of Transportation and Transit is continuing work to safely reopen Bamfield Main Road. Significant progress has been made in recent weeks and the targeted re-opening date is Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

More than 1,000 dangerous trees have been safely removed from the slope alongside the corridor, with some trees measuring up to half a metre in diameter. This crucial work will continue through the week of Oct. 12-18, 2025.

In the past week, the ministry began installing a new weather station in the area. This infrastructure will play a vital role in monitoring wind and precipitation levels, helping inform decisions about temporary road closures during severe weather.

Also in the past week, crews identified a sinkhole caused by burning organic material within the road base. Repairs to this section will begin when tree removal in the area is complete.

Procurement and installation of road closure gates that will be used at pre-established closure points that allow for vehicles to turn around in the event the road needs to be proactively closed is underway by MOTT.

For full details, please refer to the Ministry's new release: Bamfield Main Road re-opening planned for October 24

Franklin River Road between, Port Alberni and Bamfield, remains closed. Check DriveBC for updates on road closure.

Portions of Bamfield Main and Hawthorne Main are closed. Check the South Island Natural Resource District's Road Safety page for details and updates.

The Youbou route to Bamfield remains open, and Bamfield is welcoming back visitors. They are asking them to be prepared for the road conditions.

For a copy of the route map, go HERE.

For further information, visit: www.bcwildfire.ca

For current road conditions, visit: www.drivebc.ca

The Ministry of Transportation and Transit continues to lead efforts to safely re-open Bamfield Main Road, in co-operation with Mosaic Forest Management. For more information, go HERE.

Information for people returning to their property

If you are returning to your property, please refer to the following documents for lots of good tips:

Electoral Area A - Bamfield

This information is the result of collocative work between Huu-ay-aht First Nations and the ACRD.

Resilience Centre

The Resilience Centre is now closed.

The centre was set up to provide Bamfield and Huu-ay-aht First Nations residents access to facilities to support and enhance personal hygiene, health, and well-being. Now that BC Hydro has restored services to the community, this service is no longer needed.

Incidents such as the Mount Underwood Wildfire and the road closer and power outage it caused are a reminder to take care of our mental health and to reach out when we need help. Please find some resources lower on this page under Other Resources.

We would like to thank the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and Samaritan's Purse for making this possible.

For more information on what the centre offered, go to: Resilience Centre Info Sheet

Community Meeting

Members of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Emergency Operations Centre team travelled to Bamfield on September 15 to host a Community Meeting. This was the third such meeting held in the community. To find out what was discussed at the meeting, you can go HERE.

For more information, email eocinfo@acrd.bc.ca.

The ACRD EOC held two previous community meetings in Bamfield to share information and receive feedback. In attendance to provide an update was ACRD staff, BC Wildfire Service, and BC Hydro.

If you are interested in what was discussed at the community meetings in Bamfield on Monday, August 18 and 26 and September 15, please refer to the notes from the meeting:

Based on what the ACRD EOC heard at the Community Meeting, this document of Frequently Asked Questions was compiled:

Health Care

BC Hydro Service

The power has been restored the to Bamfield and Anacla areas as of Saturday, late afternoon. Please refer to BC Power Outages should you experience any outages.

Open for business

Bamfield is encouraging visitors to return. For more information, go to 20-08-2025 Bamfield Open to visitors again

Connectivity

Regular Telus service has been restored. If you need to make a call, you should be able to do so in this approximate area:

From the Health Centre to the west, to the
Top of the hill to the south past The Motel,
The Fire Hall to the east,
Nuthatch Road to the north

This service will be in place until the regular service is restored. Please keep in mind that this is an approximation. -->

If you have questions, please contact Telus customer service, at www.telus.com/en/support/contact-us

If you are not a Telus customer, you can set your phone to roam and it will work on the Telus tower.

West Coast Trail

The West Coast Trail remains open. Power has been restored in the communities of Bamfield, Anacla, and Balaats’adt. Parks Canada continues to work with the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht First Nations to ensure safety, while reducing strain on communities.

The Mount Underwood wildfire is not directly affecting the trail but has made access challenging. The road between Bamfield and Port Alberni is closed, and the alternate Youbou–Lake Cowichan route traverses remote, rugged, backcountry conditions. Please use the West Coast Trail Express bus wherever possible.

More information is available on the Parks Canada website.

Air Quality

The Air Quality Relief Centre (Alberni Valley Multiplex, 3737 Roger St.) has closed. The multiplex has resumed regular hours. Please note: the Air Quality Relief Centre can be reactivated if needed. -->

The Emergency Operations Centre will continue to monitor air quality and can reopen operations quickly, should conditions change.

Bread of Life Centre is available, open 24 hours (3130 3rd Avenue). It is operated by the Salvation Army and welcome to individuals needing a safe, comfortable space during smoky conditions.

For the latest air quality information, visit: BC Air Quality

Evacuee Support

If you are a permanent resident in the Evacuation Order area, please call the Mount Underwood Wildfire EOC call line 250-720-2738. This is monitored during the Emergency Operations Centre's operational times, 8 am to 4:30 pm. Emergency period waste disposal schedule and safe disposal or use of frozen food during power outage. Bamfield Waste Disposal Schedule

Evacuation Alerts and Orders

The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), in coordination with BC Wildfire Service and Ministry of Forests, is revising the Evacuation Alert and decreasing the size of the Evacuation Order issued due to the Mount Underwood Wildfire on August 20, 2025. There is no longer an alert for Headquarters Bay Recreation Community (access south via the Youbou route), China Creek Campground and Marina (accessible via Franklin River Road) and the surrounding area. The removal of the Alert is appropriate at this time as the wildfire in this area no longer poses the same risk to people’s life and safety.

The Evacuation Order Area has been amended to include approximately KM7 to approximately KM10 of Franklin River Road. Please see map for further detail. The newly amended Evacuation Order Area remains in place due to concerns regarding steep slopes, falling debris, and danger trees that pose safety risks to the public.

The public is not authorized to enter the Evacuation Order.

The Amended Evacuation Order and Rescinded Evacuation Alert can be found here:

The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) Emergency Operations Centre, in coordination with BC Wildfire Service, the City of Port Alberni, and Tseshaht First Nation, downgraded and updated the Evacuation Order and Evacuation Alerts, issued due to the Mount Underwood Wildfire on August 12, 2025.

Evacuation Alert and Order Downgrade and Update

The City of Port Alberni, Tiipis, and portions of Electoral Area “F” (Franklin River Road) are no longer under an Evacuation Alert.

Some of the areas in the ACRD previously included in the Evacuation Order have been downgraded to an Evacuation Alert. This includes:

Headquarters Bay Recreation Community (access south via the Youbou route)
China Creek Campground and Marina (accessible via Franklin River Road)

The areas removed from the Evacuation Order remain under the Evacuation Alert, but residents and campers can return to the campground using the designated routes mentioned above.

The area within the ACRD that was under an Evacuation Order has been updated. It now covers a smaller area, which includes China Creek trails (within the regional park).

The ACRD issued an Evacuation Order on August 12, 2025. For full details, go here: Mount Underwood Evacuation Order - August 12, 2025 1030 -->

The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), in coordination with BC Wildfire Service and Ministry of Forests, issued a revised Evacuation Order, decreasing the zone in size to the west side of Mount Underwood where the Mount Underwood Wildfire remains an active worksite: ACRD Emergency Alerts.

The Evacuation Order Area still includes approximately KM7 to approximately KM10 of Franklin River Road. Please see map for further detail. The newly amended Evacuation Order Area remains in place due to concerns regarding steep slopes, falling debris, and danger trees that pose safety risks to the public. The public is not authorized to enter the Evacuation Order.

There is no longer an alert for Headquarters Bay Recreation Community (access south via the Youbou route), China Creek Campground and Marina (accessible via Franklin River Road) and the surrounding area. The removal of the Alert is appropriate at this time as the wildfire in this area no longer poses the same risk to people’s life and safety.

For details on Evacuation Alerts and Orders section below, or go to Mount Underwood News Release - Alert and Order Update.

Archived Cancelled/Rescinded Alerts and Orders

Evacuee Support

For full details on the States of Local Emergency, go here:

Still in place: ACRD State of Local Emergency
Cancelled: City of Port Alberni State of Local Emergency
Cancelled: Tseshaht State of Local Emergency

Additional Information

The Alberni Inlet Trail is now fully open.

The Alberni Inlet Trail – Stage 2 China Creek to Franklin River opened on September 17.

Trail users: Please be aware that access to the south end of the trail (Franklin River) is limited due to the Mount Underwood Wildfire and the closure of Franklin River Road. To access the south end of the trail you must use the Youbou route.

If you are heading out to hike the second phase – or any trail, to be safe – please make sure you are prepared, have a plan, and someone knows where you are and when you expect to return from your hike. Keep in mind, a round trip of the second stage is almost 15 kilometres, so if you intend to walk it in its entirety, please ensure you are properly prepared.

The Alberni Inlet Trail Stage 1 opened on September 5.

If you have any questions or want more information on routes through the Youbou route, please go to 2025 Mount Underwood Wildfire or email eocinfo@acrd.bc.ca.

To find out more about this trail and others, go HERE.

Maps