Lightning sparks dozens of new wildfires in B.C.

The end of summer vacation doesn’t mean the end of summer heat, nor the wildfire season in B.C.

The BC Wildfire Service says there were more than 1,000 lightning strikes across the province on Sunday, most of which happened in the Cariboo region.

That comes after nearly 4,400 lightning strikes were recorded across B.C. on Friday and Saturday, mostly in the Cariboo and Coastal regions.

The service is reporting around 165 active blazes across the province Tuesday, 27 of which started in the last 24 hours.

It says about 75 per cent of those fires were caused by lightning.

Its latest situational report says the increase in lightning over the weekend makes it likely that more wildfires will be detected in the coming days.

The BCWS says a record-breaking 10-day heat wave, with temperatures 5 to 6 degrees above seasonal norms, has also left fuels highly susceptible to ignition.

Fire Information Officer Aidan Coray says the wildfire season lasting into September is not unusual, but after a mild summer, the sudden activity comes as a bit of surprise.

“Since April 1 this year, we’ve had 1,147 fires, or 742,000 hectares burned, and this is just below what we saw last year. So as of Sept. 2, 2024, we were sitting around 1,567 fires and just over 1 million hectares burned — so definitely below where we were in 2024,” Coray explained.

She says the current season is “on par” with the 10-year average of 1,394 fires burning 695,000 hectares annually.

In the Kamloops Fire Region, one of the new fires is likely visible to any drivers on the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.

The Mine Creek wildfire is currently burning out of control near the old toll booth site, but is burning up the slope, instead of towards the highway.

It has reached 105 hectares in size since it was discovered Monday.

Coray says more fire activity is likely with hot and dry conditions forecasted throughout the week, and lightning storms over the weekend.

—With files from Raynaldo Suarez