4 new wildfires discovered on Vancouver Island deemed ‘out of control’

Over the last 48 hours, four new wildfires have been discovered on Vancouver Island, all of which have been deemed ‘out of control’ by BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).

On Thursday, August 13th, three blazes were discovered. 

The furthest south wildfire is located approximately 10 kilometres north of Gold River and Highway 28. 

It is only around 0.009 hectares in size, but is still considered to be out of control by BCWS. 

Approximately 15 kilometres north of that is another wildfire deemed as out of control, which is also only 0.009 hectares in size. 

A third wildfire is located in the same region, and is around 15 kilometres northwest of the blaze near Gold River. It is also around 0.009 hectares in size and out of control. 

BCWS has determined that all three were caused by lightning strikes and is working on getting crews into the area to respond to the fires. 

The most recently discovered wildfire is located just off Bonanza Lake, around 30 kilometres southeast of Port McNeill. 

It was discovered on Friday August 14th and is also estimated to be around 0.009 hectares in size. 

The cause of this fourth new wildfire on Vancouver Island is still under investigation. 

There are two other wildfires on Vancouver Island, both of which are also small and considered ‘being held’ by BCWS. They are both located mid-island, west of Campbell River. 

Across BC, there are 116 active wildfires, with six located on Vancouver Island. 

Some fires in the south Okanagan have prompted evacuation orders that have caused over 20,000 to evacuate their homes. 

With dry conditions, heat and dry lightning expected in many regions across the province, BCWS anticipates there will be more wildfires discovered in the coming days and urges anyone who sees a wildfire or smoke to report it.