Dry conditions spark over 70 new blazes in last 24 hours, BC Wildfire Services says

The BC Wildfire Services is keeping an eye on 385 active fires, including 70 that were sparked in the last 24 hours due to hot and dry conditions.

Crews are bracing for more starts and intensifying fire behaviour with a significant chance of lightning in the forecast.

The service says eight new blazes have sprung up in the southern regions of the Northwest Fire Centre after more than 400 lightning strikes hit the area on Friday night, and they anticipate more lightning will drive new starts and intensify fire behaviour on existing blazes.

Kimberly Kelly, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, says the risk of wildfires remains high despite some rain in the forecast for parts of the province.

“We are still seeing moderate to high fire danger ratings in most of the Coastal Fire Center,” she said.

“That means that fuels are susceptible to start and susceptible to spread.”

The service says four of the new fires are burning west of the Witset community. While the blazes are all small in size, assessing some of them has been challenging due to their remote locations.

The wildfire service website shows there are six blazes of note in B.C., including the Hullcar Mountain wildfire that’s burning approximately 13 kilometres northwest of Armstrong and is roughly 7.1 square kilometres in size.

The province also issued an air quality advisory Saturday for most of the southern interior and parts of northern B.C., noting these regions will be affected by wildfire smoke over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Other affected areas include Central and North Okanagan, Fort Nelson, Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, West Kootenay, and Whistler.

Kelly reminds people to be vigilant when outdoors and to report any wildfire activity they see. One way people can report wildfires is through the BC Wildfire app.