116-year heat records fall as B.C. wildfire situation worsens

More than two dozen daily heat records were broken or tied across B.C. on Sunday as the province's wildfire situation continued to worsen – and there's more hot weather in the forecast this week.

Preliminary records from Environment and Climate Change Canada indicate Kelowna, Kamloops, Trail, Vernon and the fire-ravaged community of Lytton all experienced sweltering temperatures of 40 C or higher on July 21, surpassing their previous records for that date.

Lytton was hotter than any other community on the list, with the mercury hitting 42.2 C – edging out the previous record of 42.1 C set in 2006.

The oldest daily heat records to fall were in Kamloops and Vernon, which experienced temperatures of 41.1 C and 40.1 C, respectively. Both communities surpassed previous highs that dated back to 1908.

Meanwhile, firefighting crews were dealing with a surge in wildfire activity caused by a combination of heat, wind and lightning storms.

Dozens of new fires sparked over the weekend, bringing the total number burning across the province to 322 by Monday morning. Of those, around 55 per cent are currently categorized as "out of control," according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

The wildfires have triggered multiple evacuation orders and alerts, including in Williams Lake and the historic Barkerville gold rush site.

Environment and Climate Change Canada re-issued heat warnings for more than 20 communities Monday as well, including in the Okanagan, Kootenay, Fraser Canyon and Peace regions.

The full list of communities where new daily temperature records were set Sunday includes:

• Blue River: New record of 38.9, old record of 35.2 set in 2006
• Cache Creek: New record of 37.8, old record of 37.0 set in 1994
• Clearwater: New record of 40.4, old record of 38.9 set in 1938
• Cranbrook: New record of 37.4, old record of 36.6 set in 1985
• Creston: New record of 38.0, old record of 37.8 set in 1936
• Dawson Creek: Tied record of 33.3 set in 1938
• Dease Lake: New record of 31.1, old record of 28.8 set in 1990
• Golden: New record of 37.7, old record of 36.7 set in 1936
• Kamloops: New record of 41.1, old record of 38.9 set in 1908
• Kelowna: New record of 40.0, old record of 38.9 set in 1994
• Lillooet: New record of 39.7, old record of 39.4 set in 1935
• Lytton: New record of 42.2, old record of 42.1 set in 2006
• Mackenzie: New record of 34.6, old record of 32.7 set in 2006
• Merritt: Tied record of 39.0 set in 2006
• Nelson: New record of 39.8, old record of 38.1 set in 1994
• Penticton: New record of 38.8, old record of 38.0 set in 1994
• Prince George: New record of 34.4, old record of 33.5 set in 2006
• Princeton: Tied record of 38.3 set in 1938
• Quesnel: New record of 38.1, old record of 36.1 set in 1904
• Smithers: New record of 32.0, old record of 30.5 set in 2006
• Sparwood: New record of 34.8, old record of 34.0 set in 1979
• Summerland: New record of 38.0, old record of 37.0 set in 1994
• Trail: New record of 41.4, old record of 38.5 set in 1994
• Vernon: New record of 40.1, old record of 40.0 set in 1908
• Yoho National Park: New record of 33.2, old record of 32.2 set in 1936

On its website, the ECCC notes the records are not final, and may contain "preliminary or unofficial information."