BRITISH COLUMBIA — The agency that monitors wildfires in British Columbia said eight new fires have broken out in the southern regions of the area served by the Northwest Fire Centre after more than 400 lightning strikes occurred in the area on Friday night.

The BC Wildfire Service said four of the new fires are burning west of the community of Witset, which is home to about 611 reserve members.

The service said that although the fires were all small, assessing some of them was “challenging” due to their remote locations.

More than 380 active wildfires were raging across the province, and a BC Wildfire Service summary said there was a “significant risk” of lightning strikes in the southern interior, which could both spark new fires and fan existing ones.

The wildfire authority’s website said there were six significant fires in British Columbia, including the Hullcar Mountain wildfire, which burned about 13 kilometers northwest of Armstrong and covered an area of ​​about 7.1 square kilometers.

The service also warned travelers that smoke may be seen in the communities of Armstrong and Enderby as a planned ignition of the Hullcar Mountain wildfire is underway on Saturday.

Darcy MacLeod, wildfire officer with the BC Wildfire Service, said Friday that the planned burn had to be cancelled due to thunderstorms passing by this fire, creating adverse weather conditions.

MacLeod said crews finished building containment lines around the north side of the fire on Friday and that about 70 firefighters responded to the Hullcar Mountain wildfire over the weekend. Crews worked around the clock to make sure the containment lines held.

On Saturday, the agency also announced positive news: Wildfire suppression services said they had achieved “significant containment” along the north and southwest flanks of the wildfire in the Ponderosa FSR over the past week.

Crews successfully conducted two planned arsons in the area by removing fuel from the forest floor, reducing the risk of uncontrolled fire spread to the south due to winds.

The Ponderosa FSR fire is estimated to have burned 6,000 acres (15.4 square kilometers), and firefighters are continuing to clean up areas where fires have occurred.

The province also issued an air quality warning for most of the southern interior and parts of northern British Columbia on Saturday, noting that those regions will be affected by wildfire smoke over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Other affected areas include Central and North Okanagan, Fort Nelson, Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, West Kootenay and Whistler.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press