Wildfire-impacted Hwy 4 on Vancouver Island re-opens again, after high winds closed it overnight

Highway 4 has once again re-opened to traffic after high winds forced a second brief closure of the key route linking Vancouver Island communities Friday evening.

DriveBC said in a tweet early Saturday morning that single-lane alternating traffic is in effect along the Cameron Lake Bluffs area, and drivers should expect delays.

The highway was closed since June 6 due to a two-square-kilometre wildfire east of the popular Cathedral Grove Park near Port Alberni.

Residents cut off by the closure experienced short-lived relief Friday afternoon as the route partially re-opened with single-lane alternating traffic, only to close a few hours later, after 8 p.m., due to high winds, according to a Friday evening Tweet by DriveBC.

A statement from B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation said the high winds threatened cranes suspending wire mesh to prevent debris from falling onto the highway.

"While this temporary closure may be challenging, crews are ready to re-open the highway quickly as soon as it is safe to do so," read the statement.

In a statement Friday evening, B.C. Wildfire Service information Officer Jade Richardson said there had been no reports of a change in fire behaviour and the fire remained under control.

Afternoon re-opening drew praise from mayor

The mayor of one Vancouver Island town that lost its only paved road to the rest of the island for three weeks had earlier praised work crews for re-opening Highway 4 on Friday afternoon.

"I had my fingers crossed that would happen," Marilyn McEwen, mayor of Ucluelet, B.C., told CBC News after the re-opening around 3 p.m. Friday. "They worked really really hard to make it happen — we're just so pleased.

"Both Tofino and Ucluelet are pretty quiet without any visitors here. We're going to try to return to some sort of normalcy here."

WATCH | Highway closure reflects communities' vulnerability, says Ucluelet mayor: 

Mayor says 3-week closure of Highway 4 was a wake-up call

1 year ago

Duration 0:34

The mayor of Ucluelet, B.C., says the province needs to fund an alternative road out of western Vancouver Island after their only highway was closed for nearly three weeks.

Highway 4 is the only paved route to the 18,000-resident city of Port Alberni — as well as Tofino, Ucluelet and most communities in the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation. 

"Our communities are thrilled to be able to welcome back visitors, see residents, be able to commute to work and know that the goods and materials we depend on are flowing more easily," said the area's MLA, Josie Osborne, in a statement Friday afternoon.

The province said it planned to partly re-open what Transportation Minister Rob Fleming called a "crucial route" around 3 p.m., allowing vehicles through in a single lane, alternating east and westbound traffic.

When the single lane is re-opened, the road will allow residents, travellers and commercial vehicles to pass, but the ministry urged "all drivers to use patience as traffic queues are expected to be extensive."

The ministry warned of long waits as the passage nearest the fire alternates between eastbound and westbound traffic until next month.

The closure had forced officials to escort convoys of essential supplies over a bumpy logging road detour for weeks. That detour will also continue to operate, the ministry said Friday.

Judith Sayers, the president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, told CBC News the re-opening was the moment "everybody's anxiously been awaiting" for since the highway was forced to close.

"We're hoping our lives can go back to normal," she said Friday. "When you know you can't go out of town — whether it's business, medical, family or whatever — it's really devastating. 

"A lot of tourism has been down, a lot of businesses. It has impacted everybody."

'I'm really excited to see more people here visiting'

After the government announced the early re-opening Friday afternoon, Sayers tweeted her relief. 

"We can leave Port Alberni and the west coast [of Vancouver Island]."

The partial re-opening was also a big relief to tourism-dependent services, which make up a sizeable share of western Vancouver Island's economy.

"I'm really excited to see more people here visiting Port Alberni," Jolleen Dick, CEO of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce, told CBC News on Friday. "I'm really hoping that visitors can be patient and kind to one another."

Sayers said she hopes the province will finally create a permanent alternative route to communities on the west side of the island. 

When she served on the regional district from 2003-2006, she recalled chairing a committee that proposed such a route — known as the Horne Lake Connector. Like the current detour route to Port Alberni, that road is unpaved, and parts of it are privately owned — but it is significantly shorter.

"We've tried over and over again to get governments to put money into ensuring we have an alternative route out of town," Sayers said. "I'm hoping this is a real wake-up call.

"The uncertainty has been hard to live with — how long will the highway be closed."

Asked about the proposed alternative route on June 14, Minister Fleming said his ministry "will undoubtedly look at that again as we come out of this situation."

Dick said she and other community leaders have petitioned Ottawa and Victoria for funds to help struggling businesses impacted by not only the wildfire closure but combined with a recent minimum wage increase and the slowdown during the pandemic.

"Our community loves to persevere — we're really resilient," Dick said. "Our businesses need a lot of support … we're asking for financial support."

The highway's brief reopening came despite the Cameron Bluffs wildfire continuing to burn. But it is deemed under control "due to suppression efforts," the B.C. Wildfire Service said.