©BCWildfireService

Overnight rain helped calm an out-of-control ­wildfire near Port Alberni on Friday, but it won’t be enough to put out the blaze, which has grown to more than 3,600 hectares burned. The B.C. Wildfire Service said about seven ­millimetres of rain overnight lowered the behaviour of the Mount Underwood blaze “to mainly a smouldering ground fire.” Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with ­Environment Canada, said 10 to 20 millimetres of rain was expected Friday, followed by some showers ­continuing into Saturday. “The real good news story is there should be enough moisture, and humidity should be high enough, that it should let the B.C. Wildfire Service crews get a better handle on the situation,” Proctor said. “But it’s not going to extinguish the fire. “We need much, much more rain than what we’re seeing to do that.” Proctor said ongoing drought conditions have made the ground very dry, which is why a lot of moisture is needed.

Related coverage in the CBC News, by Akshay Kulkarni: Wildfire that forced hundreds to flee on Vancouver Island now under control – The B.C. Wildfire Service announced Saturday evening that crews made significant progress in fighting the Wesley Ridge wildfire burning on the north banks of Cameron Lake, about 50 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo in southeast Vancouver Island.