Structures lost to Shetland Creek wildfire as more heat, thunderstorms strike parts of B.C.

The number of wildfires in British Columbia has flared as more lightning storms bring the potential for further fire starts.

More than 300 wildfires are burning in the province, and more than half of those are classified as out of control.

The fast-moving Shetland Creek fire burning near Spences Bridge is of the most concern, with evacuation orders and alerts popping up in Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Spences Bridge, the Ashcroft First Nation and several Cook's Ferry Indian Band reserves.

• Full list of evacuation orders and alerts on EmergencyInfoBC

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has confirmed a number of structures in Venables Valley, B.C., have been destroyed in the fast-moving Shetland Creek fire burning near Spences Bridge.

The emergency centre says officials have not been able to access the area to assess specific numbers, but preliminary estimates put the number of structures destroyed at less than 10.

Twenty-one structure protection personnel, along with two specialists, a branch director and a variety of structure protection equipment were responding to the Shetland Creek fire as of Saturday morning, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

"Today, July 20, is forecasted to be hotter and drier than yesterday, which will result in aggressive burning conditions with increased fire behaviour," the service said in its morning update for the blaze.

"Winds will be south-southeasterly, approximately 15 to 25 km/h, which is reduced from previous days. With less overnight early morning winds, smoky conditions are expected for the morning, which should delay the fire's activity until the late morning and early afternoon. Unfortunately, visibility for flights will be poor in the morning. With the reduction in wind speeds, a reduction in rates of spread will be present in the morning. The afternoon period will still cater to extreme fire behaviour, particularly in the upper slope regions of the North Flank, as smoke clears."

There are 125 firefighters battling the blaze Saturday, along with 10 helicopters, 16 pieces of heavy equipment and two line protectors, according to the BCWS.

DriveBC has warned that the fire's location along Highway 1 could result in closures "on short notices."

Elsewhere in the province, wildfires have closed a stretch of Highway 6 near the village of Silverton.

The Aylwin Creek and Komonko Creek wildfires are burning on either side of the highway south of Silverton and north of Slocan.

The entire village of Silverton is on evacuation alert, and the Regional District of Central Kootenay has ordered the evacuation of 107 properties on the east side of Slocan Lake as a result of the fires.

Another 21 properties on the west shore of the lake are also subject to an evacuation order because of the Nemo Creek 1 and Nemo Creek 2 wildfires.

Heat warnings continue to cover a large section of south and eastern B.C., with Environment Canada reporting the Kelowna, Cranbrook, Vernon and Nakusp areas all broke high-temperature records on Friday with Kelowna reaching 38.6 degrees.

The BCWS says the extreme temperatures and dry conditions have contributed to an increase in fire growth, and recent dry lightning from isolated storms has set off many of the current blazes. There have been close to 1,300 lightning strikes in the province since Wednesday, and 94 new ignitions, according to the service.

The wildfire service says smoke conditions are also expected to increase, while fires burning in Alberta are expected to bring smoke into the northeastern corner of B.C.

Environment Canada has issued special statements about the wildfire smoke affecting air quality in places such as the Slocan Lake, Peace River, East Kootenay, Fort Nelson and South Thompson areas, asking residents to limit outdoor activities. 

With files from The Canadian Press