The Shetland Creek wildfire burns, near Spences Bridge, B.C. in an Aug. 1, 2024. The agency monitoring wildfires in British Columbia's says eight new blazes have sprung up in the southern regions of the Northwest Fire Centre after more than 400 lightning strikes hit the area on Friday night.HO/The Canadian Press
The agency monitoring wildfires in British Columbia said eight new blazes sprang up in the southern regions of the area served by the Northwest Fire Centre, after more than 400 lightning strikes hit the area on Friday night.
The BC Wildfire service said four of the new fires are burning west of the Witset community, which is home to about 611 on-reserve members.
The service said while the fires were all small in size, assessing some of them had been “a challenge” due to their remote locations.
More than 380 active wildfires were burning across the province, and a summary from the BC Wildfire Service said there was a “significant chance” of lightning in the southern Interior which could both start new fires and fuel existing ones.
The wildfire service website showed there were six blazes of note in B.C., including the Hullcar Mountain wildfire that was burning approximately 13 kilometres northwest of Armstrong and is roughly 7.1 square kilometres in size.
The service also warned travellers smoke may be visible from the communities of Armstrong and Enderby as a planned ignition on the Hullcar Mountain wildfire was under way Saturday.
BC Wildfire Service Wildfire Officer Darcy MacLeod said on Friday that they had to pause the proposed planned ignition because of thunderstorms that were passing by this fire, which brought unfavourable weather conditions.
MacLeod said crews finished building control lines around the north side of the fire on Friday and about 70 firefighters were responding to the Hullcar Mountain wildfire over the weekend with crews working 24 hours a day to ensure the control lines were holding.
Some positive news was shared by the agency on Saturday, with the wildfire services saying they have “achieved significant containment” along the north and southwest flanks of the Ponderosa FSR wildfire this past week.
Crews completed two planned ignitions with success in the area by removing fuels on the forest floor, reducing the risks of uncontrolled fire spreading to the south due to winds.
The Ponderosa FSR fire is burning an estimated area of about 15.4 square kilometres with crews continuing to mop up areas where ignitions took place.
The province also issued an air quality advisory Saturday for most of the southern Interior and parts of northern B.C., noting these 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.