British ColumbiaThe Bamfield Main Road was closed in August due to the Mount Underwood wildfire, effectively cutting off the small Vancouver Island community of Bamfield from its next closest city. Locals are now excited for the road’s reopening.Bamfield was effectively cut off from its closest city since August due to the Mount Underwood wildfireClaire Palmer · CBC News · Posted: Oct 24, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 24Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesBamfield Main Road was closed for months after an August wildfire damaged the road and surrounding area. Now, it is set to reopen and provide access to the west coast of Vancouver Island. (Claire Palmer/CBC)Bamfield Main Road is set to reopen this Friday, after a months-long closure that left the small community of Bamfield on Vancouver Island’s west coast effectively cut off from Port Alberni, the next closest city. Bamfield has a tiny population of 150 people, with many residents accessing everyday essentials like groceries, banks, mail and doctors in Port Alberni, making the journey along the unpaved Bamfield Main Road to do so. But the road has been closed since Aug. 11, when the Mount Underwood wildfire ripped through the Alberni Valley, causing damage to the road and surrounding area. While the fire has long since been extinguished, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) had deemed the road unsafe, and has been undertaking a massive cleanup effort in recent weeks — forcing those in Bamfield to take a lengthy hours-long detour south through Youbou.And despite the planned reopening on Friday, closures won’t be a thing of the past.Locals are being warned to prepare for short closures after the reopening, as remaining work is completed and the road faces high winds or heavy rain.Marnie McAughtrie, with the Bamfield Chamber of Commerce, runs a grocery store called Bamfield Mercantile on the west end of town. She says she’s cautiously optimistic. “We’re looking forward to getting things back to normal.”WATCH | Locals look forward to reopening:Bamfield Main Road set to reopen after months-long closureAfter more than two months, the community of Bamfield on Vancouver Island is looking forward to having its main access point into and out of the community reopen on Friday. The Bamfield Main Road was shut down due to the Mount Underwood wildfire in August. The province has been clearing trees and repairing the road, which it says posed a safety risk. Claire Palmer has more on the impacts of the closure. Impacts to the communitySome in the community worry that the opening is too little, too late. McAughtrie says that the closures were a “huge blow” to local businesses. They effectively ended the summer tourist season early in mid-August, right in the midst of what is usually the busiest two-week stretch of the summer in Bamfield. A photo taken Oct. 7, 2025, shows trees and power lines still down along Bamfield Main Road on Vancouver Island. (Josie Osborne/Facebook)“I would say, personally, our sales were down about 25 to 30 per cent — but the restaurants didn’t fare as well,” she added. “Some were down 80 to 90 per cent and some businesses, mostly First Nations businesses, chose to close altogether.”A large pyrocumulus cloud formation is seen over the Mount Underwood wildfire in Port Alberni, B.C., on Aug. 13. The fire significantly damaged sections of the cliffs around the Bamfield Main Road, forcing it to close. (Claire Palmer/CBC)Frustrations came to a head two weeks ago, when some Bamfield residents took to the road to see the damage for themselves. Paul Demontigny, a Bamfield resident of 54 years, was among them, and says that daily life for residents has been a hassle — what used to be a one-hour drive has turned into expensive overnight trips. “There were people who needed to go to see the doctors,” said Demontigny. “Why did they not have a way for them to get through? It was just ridiculous.”The Bamfield Road is a critical route for people living in the Vancouver Island west coast communities of Bamfield, Anacla, and balaaćadt. This photo was taken in October 2023, not long after the Huu-ay-aht First Nations had orchestrated significant improvements to the once-dangerous route. (Kathryn Marlow/CBC)Conrad Madill captains the MV Frances Barkley between Port Alberni and Bamfield, shuttling tourists and supplies along the Alberni Inlet. He says he saw first-hand how important the road is. “Everyone needs that road. It’s a lifeline” Conrad Madill shuttles tourists and supplies along the Alberni Inlet as captain of the MV Frances Barkley between Port Alberni and Bamfield. (Claire Palmer/CBC)Madill says, he would have liked to see the province step in to provide some relief.Instead, he says that local companies like the Lady Rose Marina — who own and operate the Frances Barkley — had to step up, with Lady Rose covering the cost of the water taxi for locals trying to get to and from Port Alberni for appointments. “That would have been nice to see, you know, more of a communal thing, with the government and private business working together,” he said. “And it didn’t happen the way we would have liked to seen it.”McAughtrie says that the province has reached out to her and the Chamber of Commerce, and that plans are in the works to promote Bamfield as a destination for next summer to help recoup some of the losses.She also said that other programs — like low-interest loans — are also being offered to boost the Bamfield economy. ABOUT THE AUTHORClaire Palmer is a video journalist in Nanaimo. Originally from Ontario, she spent three years in Golden, B.C., before joining CBC. You can contact her at claire.palmer@cbc.ca
Bamfield Main Road on Vancouver Island set to reopen months after wildfire closure
