Several new wildfires burning in large area around Revelstoke

Several new wildfires, believed to be sparked by lightning, are burning in the Revelstoke area.

According to the BC Wildfire Service, there are 10 wildfires within 10 kilometres of Revelstoke. That includes four directly east that are within five to eight km.

The remaining six wildfires are seven to 11 km to the southwest, across Upper Arrow Lake. However, north of Revelstoke, from 18 to 30 km, are another 13 wildfires.

All told, within the Southeast Fire Centre, there are 33 new fires in a large area around Revelstoke. 27 were discovered on Aug. 19, with the remaining six were found on Aug. 20.

BCWS believes 32 were caused by lightning, with one having an unknown cause.

On Friday, the BCWS said there were 491 lightning strikes across the province on Thursday.

Global News has reached out to the Southeast Fire District for more information.

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East side of Upper Arrow Lake

• Mt. Mackenzie No. 2 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Mt. Mackenzie No. 3 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Greely Bowl (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Radar Bowl (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• South shoulder Mt. Cartier (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• North shoulder Mt. McCrea (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Crawford Creek East (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused

Notably, there’s also the Akolkolex fire in this area. It’s located around 23 km southeast of Revelstoke, but was discovered on Aug. 12.

It’s deemed to be out of control, is sized at 106 hectares and is thought to be person-caused.

West side of Upper Arrow Lake

• Southeast ridge of Mt. Macpherson (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• East ridge of Mt. Begbie (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• East ridge of Mt. Begbie (1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Begbie shoulder (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Shakedown Forest Service Road 1 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Shakedown Forest Service Road 2 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused

21:31 Global National: August 20

North of Revelstoke

• Carnes 1 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 2 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 3 (0.1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 4 (0.1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 5 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 6 (0.02 ha), Aug. 19, lighting caused
• Laforme Pass (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Northwest ridge Mt. Sale (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Martha Creek (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, unknown cause
• Mt. Sale (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Frisby Ridge 1 (0.1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Frisby Ridge 2 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused

There is also the La Forme Drainage 2 fire in this area. It’s located around 22 km north of Revelstoke and is deemed to be out of control. It’s believed to have been started by lightning and is sized at 182 ha.

Southeast of Revelstoke

There are also eight spot fires on the east side of Highway 31 and Trout Lake, around 68 km southeast of Revelstoke.

• Alpha Creek (0.1 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Silver Cup 1 (0.02 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Silver Cup 2 (0.1 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Silver Cup 3 (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Copper Queen Creek (0.05 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Cup Creek (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Lardeau Creek (0.15 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Ottawa Creek (1.0 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused

There’s also the Stevens Creek fire in the general area. It’s sized at 43.50 ha, is out of control and is believed to be lightning-caused.

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