Lightning Strikes Nearly 34,000 Times in British Columbia, Starting Nearly 100 Wildfires

Lightning struck British Columbia almost 34,000 times and set off nearly 100 wildfires, the B.C. Wildfire Service reported Monday afternoon. The fires spread under hot and dry conditions expected to persist through Thursday.

A heat warning covers the Okanagan Valley, Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, Shuswap, West Kootenay, Kitimat Terrace and Sunshine Coast until Thursday. Air quality alerts due to wildfire smoke are in effect for the Northeast, Fraser Canyon and East and West Kootenay. Kimberley residents remain under an evacuation alert issued Sunday.

The community of about 9,000 people faces threats from the out-of-control Matthew Creek and Tower Creek 2 wildfires. The Matthew Creek fire was discovered Saturday and is suspected to have been started by lightning. In the Thompson Nicola Regional District, the Fiftynine Creek fire exceeds 130 square kilometres and the French Bar Creek fire exceeds 100 square kilometres.

Both fires burn northwest of Kamloops. About 240 properties are under evacuation orders and more than 60 properties are under alerts. The Downing Provincial Park day use area and campground plus 11 nearby properties are also under evacuation order due to the Pear Lake Fire.

Staff and about 20 guests at Meadow Lake Guest Ranch near Clinton left after the Fiftynine Creek fire reached the property. Some cattle were moved to safety while 23 remain on the ranch land, manager Daphne Jefferson said. The Brunswick Complex, formed by the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek fires, covers about 200 square kilometres in the Fraser Valley.

More than 250 firefighters, 23 helicopters and heavy equipment are assigned to the complex. Canada’s 2026 fire season remains within the 30-year average, University of British Columbia professor Lori Daniels said. The number of fires is below historical levels, yet their intensity matches past seasons because many started under hot, dry conditions in remote areas.