Twenty-six wildfires are currently burning in B.C.’s Okanagan, Shuswap, Revelstoke, Similkameen and West Kootenay regions.
Most of the wildfires are considered new, having been discovered either on July 1st or 2nd, with BC Wildfire equally portioning shares of the causes as either lightning, person or unknown.
Currently, most of the wildfires are listed as being small, with only a handful being bigger than a hectare. Notably, four fires are considered under control, while another two are considered being held.
The biggest fire in the combined area is the Derickson Lake fire, burning in Graystokes Provincial Park east of Kelowna. That fire, discovered on June 29, is listed at 1,140 hectares.
Also in Graystokes Park, the Long Loch fire is now at 60 hectares after being previously listed at 100 hectares, That fire was also discovered June 29, and along with the nearby Derickson Lake fire, is considered out of control.
A third fire, the Hilda Creek fire, was listed at two hectares on Thursday, but is now considered extinguished.
On Friday, provincial fire officials said there were 136 wildfires across B.C., with most burning in the Interior, courtesy of a storm cell with lightning that tracked through the area.
The director of provincial operations for BC Wildfire, Cliff Chapman, said there were nine fires of note — a marker indicating serious fires.
“Yesterday, we saw the storm system track in the late afternoon to the southeast of the province,” said Chapman. “And then additionally, it started to move into the Interior, around Kamloops, as the evening progressed.
“We saw 12,000 lightning strikes roughly (on Canada Day). Many of those lightning strikes were hitting near communities.”
Chapman added there were 70 new confirmed fires, “mostly focused in the Southern Cariboo, Interior and southeast of the province.”
He also noted that none of those grew bigger than 100 hectares.
“Saying that, we do expect to pick up additional fires from the lightning activity yesterday,” he said. “Likely to see somewhere in that same neighbourhood, 70 fires, for today and we are anticipating the potential for additional lightning.”
Below is a list of the fires in the combined areas:
Revelstoke
Jordan Forest Service Road
- Location: 5 km west of Revelstoke.
- Size: 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
Tonkawatla Creek
- Location: 8 km west of Revelstoke.
- Size: 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
Fan Creek
- Location: 37 km northeast of Revelstoke.
- Size: 0.1 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Lightning.
Shuswap
Ford Road
- Location: 11 km directly north of Salmon Arm, across Shuswap Lake.
- Size: 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 1.
- Cause: Unknown.
Blackwood Creek
- Location: 19 northeast of Salmon Arm.
- Size: 0.2 hectares. Discovered June 30.
- Cause: Unknown.
- Under control.
Gultch Creek
- Location: 10 km southwest of Chase.
- Size: 0.3 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
Pemberton Creek
- Location: 16 km southeast of Chase
- Size: 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Lightning.
Stony Lake
- Location: 37 km east of Salmon Arm.
- Size: 0.1 hectares. Discovered June 30. Under control.
- Cause: Unknown.
North Okanagan
Spa Creek
- Location: 16 km west of Enderby, between Yankee Flats and Silver Creek.
- Size: 0.4 hectares. Discovered July 1.
- Cause: Person.
- Under control.
Seidner Lake
- Location: 20 km east of Armstrong.
- Size: 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 1.
- Cause: Unknown.
- Under control.
Trap Creek
- Location: 65 km east of Kalamalka Lake
- Size: 8.0 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
Valentine Taylor Forest Service Road West
- Location: 8 km northwest of Falkland.
- Size: 0.2 hectares. Discovered on July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
Central Okanagan
Long Loch
- Location: 30 km due east of Ellison/Duck Lake.
- Size: 60 hectares. Discovered June 29.
- Cause: Lightning.
Derickson Lake
- Location: 18 km north of Big White Ski Resort.
- Size: 1,140 hectares. Discovered June 29.
- Cause: Person.
Lees Lake
- Location: 32 km due east of Ellison/Duck Lake.
- Size: 0.36 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Lightning.
Inonoaklin Creek
- Location: 66 km due east of Ellison/Duck Lake.
- Size: 20 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
Trepanier Creek
- Location: 10 northeast of Peachland, alongside Highway 97C.
- Size: 0.3 hectares. Discovered June 30.
- Cause: Unknown.
- Under control.
Log Chute
- Location: 8 km south of Peachland, along Highway 97.
- Size: 1.80 hectares. Discovered June 28.
- Cause: Person.
- Considered under control.
Dark Lake Provincial Park (2 fires)
- Location: 11 km southwest of Peachland.
- The nearest fire is 11 km away.
- Size: 0.1 hectares. Discovered on June 30.
- Cause: Unknown.
- Being held.
- The second fire is 11.5 km away.
- Size: 0.3 hectares. Discovered on June 29.
- Cause: Person.
- Under control.
Similkameen
Paul Road
- Location: 10 km west of Keremeos.
- Size: 1.5 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Unknown.
West Kootenay
Turnbull Creek (2 fires)
- Location: 8 km east of Nakusp, across Upper Arrow Lake.
- The two fires are around 1.7 km apart in distance.
- Size: Both are 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Lightning for both.
West Wilson Road
- Location: 5 km northwest of New Denver.
- Size: 0.01 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Lightning.
Van Houghton Creek
- Location: 49 km northwest of Castlegar.
- Size: 0.02 hectares. Discovered July 2.
- Cause: Lightning.
Merry Creek
- Location: 8 km southwest of Castlegar.
- Size: 15 hectares. Discovered July 1.
- Cause: Person.
To view BC Wildfire’s active fire map, visit the Government of B.C. website.
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