Image Credit: BC Wildfire Service

By Adam Donnelly

WILDFIRE SEASON 2024

Fire danger rating remains high throughout Kamloops Fire Centre; more lightning on the horizon

Aug 12, 2024 | 6:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — BC Wildfire Service crews remain busy in the Kamloops Fire Centre, as there are 59 active wildfires burning throughout the region, with many of those new starts coming as a result of lightning over the weekend.

“Since Friday (August 9th), the Kamloops Fire Centre has recorded 1,389 lightning strikes throughout the region, and that thunderstorm activity has resulted in 32 new wildfire starts,” Olive Norris-Leite, BC Wildfire Fire Information Officer tells CFJC Today.

Thankfully, many of those strikes and starts were held by crews thanks to quick action and some lucky precipitation. However, just because a fire appears out doesn’t always mean it has stopped burning.

“We are still anticipating some of this thunderstorm activity to continue across the region into early next week which could continue to bring lightning,” Norris-Leite says. “We could see that lightning, paired with the hot and dry conditions bring some holdover fires, which may not pop up until a little bit later.”

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As always, the BC Wildfire Service asks that the public remain vigilant and report any new fires they may see on the BC Wildfire app or through *5555.

“You can now report a wildfire and attach photos on the BC Wildfire app,” Norris-Leite says. “By attaching those photos, it can be tremendously helpful to our operations team in deploying the correct resources and finding a more accurate location for that wildfire start.”