Three new wildfires were discovered on southern Vancouver Island over the weekend, following a warning from the BC Wildfire Service of dangerous weather conditions.
On Friday, July 11th, the Coastal Fire Centre released a warning of the first outflow pattern of the season.
This weather pattern occurs when air flows from the mountains via valleys and fjords to the water, and brings with it increased risk of wildfire potential.
One of the newly discovered wildfires that ignited over the weekend is located just north of Highway 14, roughly halfway between Jordan River and Sombrio Beach.
It is around 0.38 hectares in size and was discovered on Sunday. The cause of this blaze is still under investigation by the BC Wildfire Service.
Currently, this wildfire is still deemed ‘out of control.’
The second and third wildfires to emerge over the weekend are located in close proximity to each other on the Cowichan First Nation Reserve, just outside Duncan.
The BC Wildfire Service says that one has been deemed ‘being held,’ and is 0.76 hectares in size, while the other is considered to be ‘under control,’ and is only 0.009 hectares.
Both are along the Cowichan River and are believed to be human caused.
In addition to these three new wildfires, there is one other that is being fought by the BC Wildfire Service further up-island on the slopes of Nahmint Mountain. This blaze remains 19.1 hectares in size and is believed to have been caused by humans.
As of this publication, there are 70 active wildfires throughout the province.
