Canada's west coast saw heavy lightning activity over Monday and Tuesday, sparking several wildfires in the Northwest Fire Centre.
On Tuesday evening, Environment Canada released a visual illustrating the heavy lightning activity in the area.
Here's a map for the last 6 hours of lightning strikes in #BC. We also measured some heavy downpours: #Ootsa 18mm, #PrinceGeorge 10mm, #TableRiver 11mm. #BCstorm #WhenThunderRoarsGoIndoors! pic.twitter.com/C6usov3Jt9
— ECCC Weather British Columbia (@ECCCWeatherBC) July 9, 2019
According to a statement from the BCWS released on Tuesday, lightning storms are the suspected cause of nine new fires since July 5. An additional four new fires have been discovered since then, three of which are believed to be lightning-caused.
Of the 12 lightning-suspected wildfires reported, nine of them are less than one-hectare, and one less than five hectares. In the very northwest of BC, about 40 km west of Atlin, a wildfire that was discovered on Saturday is measured at 35 hectares.
Several new wildfires started in the Northwest Fire Centre over the weekend, due to lightning storms that have been moving through the region. The #BCWildfire Service is conducting ongoing air & ground patrols to monitor for new wildfire starts. More info: https://t.co/S6Hh67m4gP
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) July 8, 2019
The largest of the fires recently, and largest active fire in the Northwest Fire Centre, is 400 hectares located approximately 135 km northwest of Dease Lake and about 115 km southeast of Atlin.
BCWS said that they were expecting more lightning throughout the Northwest Fire Centre on Wednesday and "is conducting ongoing air and ground patrols to monitor the region for new wildfire starts," the release said.
