A rare thunderstorm that passed through most of Vancouver Island on Monday, August 28th has sparked at least 18 new wildfires.
Earlier in the day on Monday, six additional wildfires emerged in Strathcona Provincial Park, all of which are designated as ‘out of control,’ meaning they are expected to grow.
With no critical infrastructure surrounding the fires, they’re being monitored but not actively engaged by the BC Wildfire Service.
The largest wildfire in the park is the Mount Con Reid fire which has grown to over 1,400 hectares and is currently the largest fire on the island.
Five new wildfires were also discovered surrounding Sayward. Just like the Strathcona Provincial Park wildfires, they are all marked as ‘out of control’ by the BC Wildfire Service.
In the southern regions of the island, two blazes were caused by the Monday lightning storm.
One is quite small at an estimated 0.1 hectare, but it is within six kilometres of the Town of Lake Cowichan. It is now ‘being held,’ meaning the initial attack crew have been able to suppress it to the point where it is no longer likely to spread.
The southernmost wildfire on Vancouver Island is around two kilometres off Otter Point Road, northwest of Kemp Lake.
It has been dubbed the King Creek wildfire and is currently approximately 0.1 hectare, but still out of control. One attack crew has responded to the blaze and are attempting to suppress the flames.
Despite the rain that came along with the lightning storm, several wildfires were able to ignite and spread quickly.
As of this publication, there are 28 wildfires on Vancouver Island with an additional four on the Gulf Islands. BC has 396 wildfires in total.
Related:
- Six more ‘out of control’ wildfires flare up in Strathcona Provincial Park
- Here’s how Vancouver Islanders can help those displaced by BC wildfires
The province remains under a state of emergency as tens of thousands remain under evacuation orders, not knowing if their homes have been destroyed.
The state of emergency was put in place to limit people travelling through the province and to keep accommodations open for those who have been evacuated to be able to utilize.
