Five wildfires on Vancouver Island were classified as out of control Monday, according to the BC Wildfire Service, with fires burning from the North to central Island. The five fires were discovered Saturday, and are part of a larger group of active wildfires being tracked across Vancouver Island, with their status, size and response changing as crews assess conditions and work to contain them. The suspected cause is lightning. The current wildfire activity includes fires around Sayward Junction, Gold River and Woss. The wildfire activity has also prompted the cancellation of a Labour Day weekend event. In a social media post, Vancouver Island Motosports Events proprietor Jonathan Binnington announced that the September VIME event would not go ahead. “While the North Island remains open for backcountry travel (for the time being at least), the locations of the fires are close enough to the planned routes to require a go/no-go decision sooner rather than later,” He said. Binnington added entry fees would be refunded to participants who had already paid. For now, the wildfire situation is a reminder that anyone venturing into the North Island backcountry needs to know what’s burning, where it’s burning and whether their planned route could be affected. CTV News Vancouver Island will update this story as more information becomes available.
