Several new wildfires burning in large area around Revelstoke

Many new wildfires are raging in the Revelstoke region, which is believed to have been sparked by lightning.

According to the BC Wildfire Service 10 wildfires are located within 10 kilometers of Revelstoke. There are four more easterly wildfires, which are located within five to 8 km.

The remaining six wildfires lie seven to 11 kilometers to the southwest, across Upper Arrow Lake. There are 13 wildfires north of Revelstoke. They range in distance from 18-30 km.

There are 33 new fires within the Southeast Fire Centre. This includes a large area surrounding Revelstoke. 27 fires were discovered on August 19, while six more were discovered on August 20.

BCWS believes that 32 of them were lightning-related, with one being undetermined.

The BCWS reported that there were 491 lightning strikes in the province on Thursday, Friday.

Global News reached out to the Southeast Fire District to get more information.

East side of Upper Arrow Lake

• Mt. Mackenzie No. 2 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Mt. Mackenzie No. 3 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Greely Bowl (0.01ha), Aug. 19, lightning
• Radar Bowl (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• South shoulder Mt. Cartier (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• North shoulder Mt. McCrea (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Crawford Creek East (0.01ha), Aug. 20, lightning

Notably, there’s also the Akolkolex fire in this area. It’s located around 23 km southeast of Revelstoke, but was discovered on Aug. 12.

It’s deemed to be out of control, is sized at 106 hectares and is thought to be person-caused.

Upper Arrow Lake, West Side

• Southeast ridge of Mt. Macpherson (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• East ridge Mt. Begbie (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• East ridge Mt. Begbie (1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Begbie shoulder (0.01ha), Aug. 19, lightning
• Shakedown Forest Service Road 1 (0.01 ha), August 19, lightning
• Shakedown Forest Service Road 2 (0.01ha), Aug. 19, lightning

North of Revelstoke

• Carnes 1 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 2 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 3 (0.1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 4 (0.1 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 5 (0.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning caused
• Carnes 6 (0.02 ha), Aug. 19, lighting caused
• Laforme Pass (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Northwest Ridge Mt. Sale (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Martha Creek (0.01 ha), August 19, unknown cause
• Mt. Sale (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Frisby Ridge 1 (1.01 ha), Aug. 19, lightning
• Frisby Ridge 2 (0.01ha), Aug. 19, lightning

This area also has the La Forme Drainage 2 Fire. It’s located around 22 km north of Revelstoke and is deemed to be out of control. It’s believed to have been started by lightning and is sized at 182 ha.

Southeast of Revelstoke

Eight spot fires are also located on the east side Highway 31 at Trout Lake, which is approximately 68km southeast of Revelstoke.

• Alpha Creek (0.1 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Silver Cup 1 (0.02 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Silver Cup 2 (0.1 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Silver Cup 3 (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Copper Queen Creek (0.05 ha), August 20, lightning caused
• Cup Creek (0.01 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Lardeau Creek (0.15 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused
• Ottawa Creek (1.0 ha), Aug. 20, lightning caused

There’s also the Stevens Creek fire in the general area. It’s sized at 43.50 ha, is out of control and is believed to be lightning-caused.