B.C. Wildfire Service says lightning-caused fires in the forecast for Vancouver Island

The B.C. Wildfire Service is preparing for lightning-caused wildfires on Vancouver Island, where unusually dry conditions persist. "There’s a good likelihood as we get into Thursday and particularly Friday that we’ll see lightning strike in the higher terrain of Vancouver Island," says the B.C. Wildfire Service’s lead meteorologist.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is preparing for potential lightning-caused wildfires in the province, including on Vancouver Island, where unusually dry conditions persist.

The wildfire management group says lightning is in the forecast for the latter part of this week – spurring reminders for caution so firefighters don’t have to deal with human-caused wildfires too.

“Typically, the insular mountain range, the Beaufort range that’s just behind Parksville, is one of the hotspots for lightning,” says the B.C. Wildfire Service’s lead meteorologist, Matt Macdonald.

“There’s a good likelihood as we get into Thursday and particularly Friday that we’ll see lightning strike in the higher terrain of Vancouver Island, and most likely not accompanied by rain, into very receptive fuels.”

Much of the island is experiencing above-normal drought conditions. Macdonald says it started last fall with unseasonably warm, dry weather. It persisted through the winter and is worsening into our hottest months of the summer.

New fire bans are expected for the Coastal Fire Centre, which includes the island, by noon on Friday.

More firefighters from Mexico and the U.S. are on their way to help fight B.C.’s wildfires in one of the worst fire seasons in the province’s history with more than one million hectares burned.