Shomporko Online News Desk: Wildfires raged across British Columbia on Friday, putting residents on high alert.
There are 119 active fires right now, with 49 of them starting in the last two days.
In the Thompson and Shuswap districts, a lightning storm struck Thursday evening and persisted through the night, but it subsided by Friday morning.
The Columbia region will have the highest chance of lightning in the Southern Interior on Friday afternoon.
The Kootenay, Thompson, and Okanagan regions could also see some isolated thunder, Global BC meteorologist Mark Madryga said.
Smoke from the wildfires in the Interior will remain an issue for many days. Madryga said, adding that some high-level smoke is edging into the Lower Mainland and is likely to remain through the weekend.
It was a scary evening for some Kamloops residents Thursday as some were forced to flee as a wildfire came close to town.
Residents in the Valleyview and Juniper Ridge region left their homes but luckily tactical evacuation orders were rescinded just after midnight.
The fire was started by many lightning strikes, according to the city of Kamloops.
Lightning is suspected to be to blame for a fire that broke out near Merritt on Thursday night and spread along Highway 5A towards Kamloops.
Crews were seen tackling the wildfire on the slope, which is reported to have calmed down significantly overnight.
There has been no evacuation order issued.
Source_globalnews.ca
