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yesterday

Lightning-Fueled Wildfires Top 130 in British Columbia

Containment has improved on major blazes alongside shifting evacuation orders

The Cantilever Bar fire near Lytton burns north end in the afternoon of July 30, 2025. Photo: B.C. Wildfire Service.
Image
A helicopter crew works on a wildfire as another flies by in northern Manitoba on June 12. Hundreds of wildfires remain uncontained in Western and Central Canada.
A waterbomber plane flies over flames and smoke rising from a wildfire on Drought Hill near Peachland, B.C. on July 30, 2025.

Overview

  • More than 13,000 lightning strikes across B.C. on July 30–31 ignited roughly half of the province’s fires, pushing the active wildfire count to over 130.
  • MacLeod Creek fire north of Nakusp has reached 120 hectares in remote terrain and remains uncontained, limiting immediate suppression efforts.
  • Cantilever Bar fire south of Lytton has grown to 1,262 hectares and continues to threaten Lytton First Nation properties under evacuation order.
  • The 57-hectare Drought Hill blaze near Peachland is now classified as being held, prompting the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre to lift its evacuation order for 118 homes.
  • Wesley Ridge fire northwest of Nanaimo has expanded to 125 hectares, remains out of control under an evacuation order, and BC Wildfire Service warns smoldering holdover fires could emerge days after the lightning storm.