Lightning Sparks Eight New Wildfires in South Okanagan

Saturday’s lightning in the South Okanagan started eight new fires for the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch.

These new fires came with the weather after 8 p.m. on Saturday night, when lightning sparked all eight of the fires between Cawston and Richter Pass. The blazes are visible from Oliver and Osoyoos. The largest of these new fires is near Hunter Creek and measures at 12 hectares, while another one south of Spotted Lake is three hectares. The rest are simply spot fires.

File Photo. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

Tankers and skimmers are at work on the two largest fires, with initial attack crews fighting the spot fires. Fire Information Officer Kelsey Winter says that no structures are threatened at this time.

The entire Kamloops Fire Centre in the Southern Interior is looking dry, with fire danger ratings of mostly high to extreme with a few spots of moderate. A possible campfire ban will be evaluated on Monday, and Winter said that likely a fire ban will be on by the time the weekend comes, as there’s no rain in the forecast.

Danger ratings across the province on Sunday, June 28th. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Management Branch)

Though the number of fires the Kamloops Fire Centre is responding to is not unusual for this time of year, Winter did say that the number of hectares burned is larger, partly due to the Cisco Road fire that was over 2000 hectares.

“We are seeing our smaller fires grow a lot faster,” said Winter. She said the lightning strikes that in 2014 might have remained spot fires are growing to two, three, or even 12 hectares. “Because it is so dry, it’s eating through the fuel very quickly.”

The entire Kamloops Fire Centre has responded to 16 new wildfires this weekend, though by early afternoon, no new fires had been found on Sunday.