Number of wildfires more than doubles after lightning strikes across B.C.
The number of active wildfires in British Columbia more than doubled over a 24-hour span, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS).
BCWS officials said Thursday that warming and drying conditions are expected to continue this week. Forty-nine active wildfires burn across the province, with 29 of those started in the last 24 hours as of 9 a.m. PT Friday, according to the wildfire service's online dashboard.
The jump comes after lightning overnight in Metro Vancouver and B.C.'s southern Interior, and this morning on Vancouver Island and in the Kootenay region.
RELATED: Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation order south of Pemberton, B.C.
Two wildfires of note — the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek wildfires which make up the Brunswick wildfire complex near Boston Bar, B.C. — are still listed as out of control.
A woman watches as the Signal Hill wildfire consumes trees on a mountainside in Pemberton, B.C., on July 16, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
The wildfires have resulted in a number of evacuation orders around the community.
Near Pemberton, the Signal Hill wildfire grew to 0.97 square kilometres (97 hectares). The wildfire has caused evacuation alerts for parts of the Village of Pemberton and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. An evacuation order is also in effect for One Mile Lake Park to give crews safe working space.
WATCH: Here's why Vancouver rarely sees thunderstorms
The story was originally published for CBC News. With files from The Canadian Press.