Four lightning-induced wildfires burning “out of control” on southern Vancouver Island

The BC Wildfire Service is reporting four wildfires are now classified as ‘out of control’ on southern Vancouver Island as of August 18.

The fires were caused by a major lightning storm across the southern coast of B.C. that lasted several hours and included around 1,800 lightning strikes in total.

About 900 of those strikes landed directly over Vancouver Island and caused at least 14 wildfires in the south island region, according to BC Wildfire Service.

While most of those fires were easier to deal with, four are now burning out of control.

See also: “Caught us a little off guard”: 1,800 lightning strikes recorded over southern B.C. Sunday night

One of the fires is burning on Mount Healy near Sooke Lake and is estimated to be around eight hectares in size.

Two smaller fires have also been classified as “out of control” near the Sooke region, the first of which spans 1.10 hectares and is on Trap Mountain, located just west of the Sooke Potholes area.

The second in the region is smaller still, at 0.01 hectares, and is located near Bear Creek Reservoir.

Meanwhile, further up island in Lake Cowichan burns another out of control lightning-induced wildfire in the Meade Creek area. This fire is estimated to be 2.40 hectares in size as of the time of publication.

Since the wildfires broke out, BC Wildfire Service officials have been using water bombers to battle the flames.

In total, there have been 28 wildfires in the Coastal Fire Centre region reported over the past two days.

Anyone who sees a potential wildfire in the region is asked to contact the authority at 1-800-663-5555.