On Aug. 11, the main vehicle access to the remote Vancouver Island community of Bamfield was cut off by wildfire.
More than two months later, the fire is long out, but the road closure remains and residents are becoming impatient.
Bamfield Main Road connects Bamfield, Anacla and other remote communities on Vancouver Island's west coast to Port Alberni, providing access to doctor appointments, shopping and other essentials. Typically, the trip along the unpaved route takes 60 to 90 minutes.
But when the Mount Underwood wildfire broke out, that road had to be closed because of a blaze raging nearby. Residents of the Bamfield area were without power for weeks as the fire damaged BC Hydro equipment and the only ways to get outside of the area were by boat or through a lengthy forestry road detour.
While power has been restored and work has been done to make that detour safer, Bamfield-area residents have to travel more than four hours — eastbound via logging roads through Cowichan Lake toward Duncan, then north along the Island's main east coast highway, before looping west again — to get to Port Alberni.
On Oct. 5, approximately 30 Bamfield residents went to the site of the road closure to see the damage for themselves.
"The reason we went, it was out of curiosity," said Sherry Harrison, a year-round Bamfield resident. "We were going there peacefully and we were under the impression that Sunday they wouldn't be working."
Harrison said some people walked to the closed-off area to see the damage. They were expecting to see boulders and trees on the road itself, but it was completely clear.
Another point of frustration for the people on the other side of the closure is the existence of a logging road owned by Mosaic Forest Management. A section of that road goes around the Bamfield Main Road closure. Harrison said she and a small group of other people drove the road to check it out.
"Everyone was curious. Why aren't we allowed to take the bypass road?" she said. When asked if she felt Mosaic's logging road was safe, Harrison claimed it was.
"The Youbou (Cowichan Lake) Road is 100 times worse than that little 20-minute bypass road. And that's what everybody said that went up and over it, they're like 'oh my god. Why have we been going two-and-a-half hours to Duncan?'"
Mosaic said in a statement their logging road is not safe for the public.
"Industrial radio-controlled logging roads can carry significant risks for the general public, including trucks carrying heavy loads, steep grades, narrow single-lane rough roads and uneven surfaces. As such, gates are installed to prevent unauthorized access," Mosaic said in a statement.
For Harrison, who has been getting groceries in Duncan, that wasn't what she wanted to hear.
"None of our lives are in Duncan. Our doctors are in Port (Alberni), our dentists are in Port, our pharmacies are in Port. Our families are in Port," she said. "I've driven around to Port three times because I had to and it's exhausting to try and do that in one day."
In addition to the four-hour drive each way, there's the time needed for appointments, shopping and other things people need to do.
"It's a 14-hour trip. You're driving an unfamiliar gravel road in the dark coming home and this is supposed to be safe and that's the reason why they've got us going there, because the other 1.5 kilometres is not safe," Harrison said.
In an email statement, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit said the damage to the hillside is not visible from the road, but there are significant safety risks. The ministry's top priority is the safety of people travelling on the road, its statement said.
More than 1,000 trees need to be removed to ensure the road is safe and the terrain is challenging for crews to work in, the ministry said.
"Crews are actively working daily to assess and remove danger trees from the uphill slope of Mount Underwood. This work is highly complex, due to the unpredictable nature of fire-damaged material. Falling trees and associated debris present ongoing risks."
Since Sept. 12, crews have been working to assess the dangers and remove them. This temporarily stopped after the group arrived at the work site on Oct. 5.
"Work is scheduled to resume Wednesday, Oct. 8. However, continued unauthorized access is jeopardizing the safety of workers and delaying the completion of this critical hazard mitigation effort," the ministry said.
Outside of the fire-damaged areas, crews are building gates and a weather station, allowing the Bamfield Main Road to be shut down again if there are risks in the future.
The ministry said the road owned by Mosaic is private and public use is up to the discretion of the company, but added those logging roads were not built and are not maintained for public use.
But Bamfield is suffering because of the road closure, Harrison said. August is usually the busiest time of year for the community and fall is its shoulder season. But this year, Harrison said, tourists are rare due to the road's closure.
"Bamfield is a ghost town. I've never seen Bamfield like this," she said. "Restaurants are closing, water taxis are shutting down. There's nobody here."
The Bamfield director for the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Bob Beckett, said he knows the area is hurting and people are frustrated.
"Having the Bamfield road closed is problematic, making it very difficult for our community and there's a number of people who are extremely upset and struggling with this," he said. "I know every behind the scene, the ministry of transportation, all the contractors, everyone is working hard to get that road opened up. And I appeal to the community to be as patient as you can possibly be."
The ministry expects the road will be re-opened by Oct. 24.
