B.C. wildfire tally surges past 100 as barrage of lightning strikes transforms fire season in a flash
British Columbia is facing a surge in wildfires, with the total count rising from 20 to over 115 following a series of lightning strikes. Despite evacuation orders in Boston Bar, some residents have chosen to remain in their homes to protect their property and businesses.
Why it matters
The rapid escalation of wildfires highlights the increasing volatility of fire seasons in Western Canada due to climate change and extreme weather events.
On Wednesday morning the province's firefighters faced only about 20 blazes in what had been a relatively quiet season, but as of Saturday morning there were about 115 fires burning, including about 77 started in the last 24 hours.
Two-thirds of the fires are burning out of control and most new blazes, orders and alerts are concentrated in the southern B.C. Interior.
But Attila Banhegyi remains unfazed after choosing to remain behind in his house in Boston Bar, B.C., near the Brunswick Creek fire with an area of 40 square kilometres and the Ainslie Creek fire with an area of 160 square kilometres.
The community of around 160 people in B.C.'s Fraser Canyon was ordered to evacuate on Thursday, but Banhegyi says he has remained behind out of "convenience and necessity" because he needs to look after his two businesses and animals, including 12 chickens.
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