Vancouver Island’s Highway 4 partly reopens, 17 days after vital route closed by fire | CBC News

The only paved road between Port Alberni, B.C. and the rest of Vancouver Island partly reopened to traffic a day ahead of schedule.

Highway 4 had been closed for nearly three weeks due to a two-square-kilometre wildfire east of the popular Cathedral Grove Park. But officials warned of long waits as the passage nearest the fire alternates between eastbound and westbound traffic until next month.

“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 reopen 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.

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.”

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. 

The closure 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 reopening is the moment “everybody’s anxiously been awaiting” 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 an early reopening Friday afternoon, Sayers tweeted her relief. 

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

The partial reopening is 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, the 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 reopening comes despite the Cameron Bluffs wildfire continuing to burn. But it is deemed under control “due to suppression efforts,” the B.C. Wildfire Service said.