By Pete McIntyre

Lightning sparks new fires

Jun 14, 2019 | 3:57 PM

A thunderstorm that moved through parts of the Kamloops Fire Centre Thursday night left new wildfires in its wake.

The centre is reporting eight new lightning-caused fires.

“That number will probably fluctuate a bit over the weekend because a lot of that lightning did come with precipitation in various degrees. But we anticipate that when things warm up and dry out, it might mean a few of them pop back up and become more visible again,” Information Officer Nicole Bonnett from the B.C Wildfire Service, said.

Bonnett told Vernon Matters, the new fires are not a concern.

“They are all fairly small, spot-sized fires. A few of them are single lightning strike trees that were on fire so they are not posing a risk to communities or structures at this time.”

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She said the public should report any possible fires as soon as possible.

“If you think you’re reporting one that you reported last time — perhaps you haven’t seen it lately and we couldn’t see it the first time we went out there — then reporting it again with as much information as possible is always appreciated and helps us respond more effectively,” Bonnett added.

There are 49 active fires in B.C. today. Twenty-seven are new ones in the last two days.

Environment Canada told our affiliate CFJC Today, thunderstorms Thursday night produced 24,000 lightning strikes across the province, which could lead to holdover fires that smoulder and start to grow a few days later.

by Pete McIntyre

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