Lightning strikes are the leading cause of wildfires in British Columbia

Lightning strikes are the leading cause of wildfires in British Columbia


According to the BC Wildfire Service, 87 per cent of fires this year have been caused by lightning. With close to 9000 strikes within the last 48 hours, this is bad news for the crews battling these blazes.

“A lot of this lightning is not accompanied by precipitation which can increase the chance of igniting a fire,” said Aydan Coray with the BC Wildfire Service.

Fires caused by lightning are more dangerous because they take more time to build. This can lead to these fires causing significant damage before they are reported.


The email you need for the day’s
top news stories from Canada and around the world.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News’ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“There may be lightning strikes that may take a few days up to a week to turn into fires.”

Over the past two days, 15 fifteen fires have been ignited in province with 8 being caused by lightning.

Story continues below advertisement

Two notable lightning-caused fires this week are in the North Okanagan and Shuswap areas. The Bonneau Creek fire is burning seven kilometres southwest of Cherryville and is 2.5 hectares in size. Another fire is burning out of control nine kilometres southeast of Sicamous and has consumed over 20 hectares.


Click to play video: 'Wildfires rage across western Canada as heat wave lingers'


Wildfires rage across western Canada as heat wave lingers


 

&copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.





Source link

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *