Lightning lit up B.C. Friday, and five of the new fires are on the Island

One lightning strike near Sayward is now the Island's only out-of-control wildfire, along Highway 19 near the Eve River, estimated at 0.1 hectares Saturday morning.

It's part of a much bigger swing. On Wednesday morning B.C.'s firefighters faced about 20 blazes in what had been a quiet season. By Saturday there were roughly 113 burning across the province, with about 100 of them started since Friday. The BC Wildfire Service blames the storm system that dropped more than 4,000 lightning strikes on B.C. in a single day, 1,382 of them inside the Coastal Fire Centre.

Five fires landed on the Island north of Parksville, all discovered July 17 and all attributed to lightning. Three were being held, one was under control, and a sixth near Fanny Bay had its cause listed as under investigation before being brought under control Saturday afternoon.

Most of the damage is in the southern Interior. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District ordered 131 properties near Big Bar Lake and Meadow Lake evacuated Friday because of the Fiftynine Creek fire, which grew to about 40 square kilometres the same evening it was detected.