Wildfires tick up with lightning in forecast for B.C.'s southern Interior

A wildfire between Spences Bridge and Ashcroft is seen in this picture posted by the BC Wildfire Service on Monday, July 15, 2024.

The number of active wildfires in British Columbia ticked up Friday after holding below 350 for days, as officials warn of lightning in the forecast.

There are just under 360 active blazes across the province, including 25 sparked since Thursday as many areas of southern B.C. bake under hot and dry conditions.

A provincial situation report from the BC Wildfire Service warned of a "significant" chance of lightning in the southern Interior, saying crews were bracing for new starts and intensifying fire behaviour on existing blazes.

Still, the wildfire service website shows the number of "wildfires of note" dropped to six from nine earlier this week.

Campfires continue to be banned across B.C. except for the Prince George Fire Centre, as an earlier ban in Northwest Fire Centre will be reinstated on Saturday.

Northeast of Pemberton, B.C., Birkenhead Lake Park remained closed Friday as a two-square-kilometre wildfire burns on the mountainside above lake.

There were 26 firefighters and two helicopters responding to the blaze.

Environment Canada also expanded a severe thunderstorm watch for much of the southern Interior Friday, stretching from outside Pemberton to the Fraser Canyon, Nicola, Shuswap, Okanagan, South Thompson, Boundary and Arrow Lakes regions.

The thunderstorm watch came after the weather office expanded smoky skies bulletins to include Whistler and Pemberton as well as the Fraser Canyon.

Bulletin warnings of wildfire smoke also cover the Fernie area, Fort Nelson in the northeast, and parts of the southern Interior stretching from Manning Provincial Park to Kelowna, Vernon, and communities along the Arrow lakes.

Heat warnings remained in effect Friday for eastern Vancouver Island, inland sections of B.C.'s north and central coast, the Howe Sound area, the North Thompson region and the northeastern corner of the province.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.