The B.C. Wildfire Service reported 385 lightning strikes over two days within the Coastal Fire Region, an area that includes Vancouver Island.
Nick Donnelly of the B.C. Wildfire Service said those strikes resulted in at least seven fires.
“There could be more fires that are discovered over the next couple of days,” Donnelly said.
“We are doing some flights over the region to see if there are any new discoveries.”
The Coastal Fire Region includes the Haida Gwaii, the southern coast and the Lower Mainland.
Environment Canada issued weather warnings for severe thunderstorms and lightning activity over the weekend in the capital region, east Island and southern Gulf Islands.
At least two wildfires were sparked by lightning strikes on Vancouver Island — one southwest of Shawnigan Lake and another south of Cumberland.
Both were small fires and classified as being held and not expected to increase in size.
Initial attack crews of four firefighters were assigned to each blaze.
The lightning show on the south Island over the weekend was followed by heavy rainfall in some regions.
Donnelly said the rainfall was helpful in mitigating some of the risk of fires, but noted “it only takes a couple of days to dry things out and return to dry conditions.”
A province-wide campfire ban remains in effect.
The lightning strikes on the Island may not be over just yet.
Environment Canada is forecasting lightning and thunderstorms today for the Tofino, Port Alberni and Courtenay areas.
Greater Victoria is also at risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon, and Nanaimo may get thunder and lightning tonight.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s downpour in parts of Greater Victoria was nearly one for the record books.
Weather analyst Steven Murray, who compiles data from the Gonzales station in Fairfield, said a total of 9.0 mm of rain fell — the second wettest Aug. 18 on record at the station in the 127 years of data between 1898 and 2024.
The wettest Aug. 18 was in 1954, when 17.5 mm fell, said Murray.
“Getting nine millimetres of rain in one day in August isn’t common for Victoria, but it’s also not highly unusual,” he said. “For example, Victoria Gonzales has seen 65 August days with at least nine millimetres of rain over the past 127 years, so it’s something that happens about once every two years on average.”
Murray said the intensity of the rain during the storm was more unusual. The hourly rain recorded for 11 p.m. to midnight on Saturday night was 6.8 mm.
“That is the highest hourly rate of rainfall recorded at Victoria Gonzales during any spring or summer month over the past 10 years,” he said.
Murray added he did not have specific data on the intensity of the thunder and lightning, “but I can say that it was the most impressive display that I’ve seen in Victoria at least since the storm of July 13, 2012.”
Victoria’s rainfall paled in comparison to thunderstorms in the east, which gave Montreal 154 mm on Aug. 9, and Toronto 128 mm on Aug. 17. Both were all-time records for the airport stations in those cities.
