The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) issued a wildfire evacuation alert for Sonora Island residents south of Hyacinth and Dorr Lakes. The alert is currently just a precaution, but residents are asked to prepare to leave their homes on short notice.

“Get your grab-and-go bags ready (which should include several days of clothing, toiletries and medications), your emergency plan, copies of important documents and important mementos,” wrote SRD Protective Services Coordinator Shaun Koopman. “If you may require assistance with either evacuating your area or coming to another community (such as being picked up by a vehicle at a dock) then please call SRD’s Emergency Operation Centre at 250-830-6702 and leave a message with your contact information and your call will be returned.”

The wildfire was reported directly across from Quadra Island at Springer Point.

“The interface fire is currently 2 hectares and BC Wildfire Service personnel are working with the local Owens Bay fire brigade to fight the fire. BC Wildfire is pleading that additional citizens avoid coming to the area to allow their aviation resources to operate safely," according to the SRD press release.

As of 3:30 a.m. this morning, the BC Wildfire Dashboard shows this fire as approximately one hectare in size and the stage of control is listed as "new."

Map showing wildfires on Sonora Island, quathet Regional District and CFB Comox military base. Map adapted from the BC Wildfire Dashboard by Roy L Hales.

There are currently 259 fires raging throughout British Columbia, 24 of them in the Coastal Region.

Three of them are just south of Cortes Island in quathet Regional District. The seven hectare fire at Daniels Lake is "under control." There are also two small fires on the shores of Powell Lake, just north of Powell River, at Pickle Point and an area designated as V52598. Both are also "under control."

Around 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11, a grass fire was reported at the CFB Comox Military base. 

Base Commander Col. Bryn Elliott confirmed that it began with a controlled explosive ordnance disposal.

“Normally, we don’t do any of these things during the hot summer months; however, we did have a locker that was full of unexploded ordinance and we did have some civilian contractors coming into that building, so to ensure their safety, we decided to do a controlled explosion – subterranean,” he said.

According to the BC Wildfire Dashboard, the three hectare fire is "under control."