Photo: Contributed A BC fire service spokesman says 80 per cent of the 212 new fires started across the province since Wednesday were caused by lightning. Brianna Hill says the agency was well prepared and 69 percent of all those fired by the strikes are now classified as out, under control or in custody. The agency said in a statement that this is not unusual as August is typically an active month for lightning in the province, second only to July. Hill says what’s somewhat unusual is four days in a row of widespread lightning. He also notes that while officials were concerned about the wind causing the fires to spread quickly and unpredictably throughout the weekend, the agency was pleasantly surprised that there was no significant impact. He says the agency is now predicting rising temperatures and less convection, meaning much less lightning activity is expected next week.
