The number of active wildfires in British Columbia has leapt by more than a dozen in a spate of hot, sunny weather that has sent daily temperature records tumbling.
BC Wildfire Service figures show more than 80 active blazes on Thursday, up from 68 the day before.
The service's latest provincial situation report says forest fuels remain highly susceptible to ignition, and incoming thunderstorms across southern B.C. are expected to bring a risk of lightning to coastal areas and the southern Interior.
The update posted Thursday notes campfire bans came into effect across the Cariboo and Kamloops fire centres at noon.
A ban was already in place in the Coastal fire centre, with the exception of Haida Gwaii and a portion of the central coast near the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
The update comes after the B.C. government issued a statement urging people to abide by fire prohibitions over the Labour Day long weekend.
About 20 wildfires were classified as burning out of control on Thursday, up from four on Monday, including a cluster of new starts in the northwestern part of the Cariboo region.
The wildfire service's map also shows several new blazes detected Thursday in conservancy areas northwest of Whistler.
In the Okanagan, an evacuation alert was lifted Thursday for 58 properties at the south end of Peachland, where a fire sparked by a motorhome veering off the highway Tuesday night continues to be held at about 1.4 hectares.
The blaze had knocked out power for nearly 700 homes, an outage that stretched into Wednesday, but the BC Hydro website shows it has since been restored.
While cooler temperatures have returned to Metro Vancouver, with the regional district lifting a smog advisory for the Fraser Valley, heat warnings remain in effect for parts of the southern Interior along with inland sections of the north coast.
The weather office says temperatures reaching 34 to 38 C are expected in the Fraser Canyon and South Thompson, and temperatures of 29 C or higher are forecast to persist in the Terrace and Kitimat areas through tomorrow.
Environment Canada has lifted its heat warning for the central coast.
Daily maximum temperature records have been tumbling across B.C. since last weekend, with 13 areas recording new highs for Aug. 27.
They include Cache Creek, where the temperature of 39.5 C broke the previous record of 36.1 C set in 2017, and Kamloops, where the mercury hit 37 C, surpassing the earlier high of 35 C set in 1933.
It was 40.1 C in Lytton on Wednesday, 39.4 in Lillooet and 36.1 C in Clearwater, temperatures that set new daily records in those areas.
The high of 32.5 C in the northern community of Fort Nelson tied the previous daily record set in 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.
Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
