VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s wildfire service has warned of a “potentially significant wildfire event” in the next 24 to 48 hours as parched conditions combine with the risk of lightning across the province.

The service’s director of wildfire operations, Cliff Chapman, says high winds will add to the risk, particularly in the southern two-thirds of B.C.

Chapman told a news briefing that fine fuels are “as dry as they’re going to be” in the south and northeast of B.C., making them highly susceptible to ignition and rapid spread.

He says the southern half of the province has the potential for the “most extreme” fire behaviour in the next 48 hours, when there is also a high potential for lightning.

That includes the risk of dry lightning in southern border areas, with the lack of associated rain escalating the risk for fires starting and spreading.

The dire warnings come as the provincial government says forecasts are predicting elevated drought conditions across much of B.C. this summer.

A statement from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship encouraged people to conserve water wherever possible to help protect local watersheds and reduce the risk of water becoming scarce.

The south coast and southern Interior remain under significant pressure as drought conditions persist and parts of Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the southern Interior have shown record-low stream flows, the statement said.

It said watersheds where risks to aquatic ecosystems and fish populations are increasing included the Koksilah, Tsolum and Salmon rivers and Bessette Creek.

The BC Wildfire Service had already warned that dry conditions risked an increase in fire hazard as crews continued to battle blazes in the Fraser Canyon.

It said crews were planning to conduct “heavy helicopter bucketing” on Tuesday to prevent an out-of-control blaze near the community of Boston Bar, B.C., from moving east toward Merritt, B.C., across an area inaccessible to groundcrews.

The efforts to combat the 189-square-kilometre Brunswick complex of wildfires came as another blaze further north in the Thompson Nicola Regional District prompted fresh evacuation alerts for at least two properties north of Lillooet, B.C.

The French Bar Creek wildfire was measured at 12 square kilometres in size, with the BC Wildfire Service saying it was presenting challenges to crews due to terrain, water availability and limited access to the site.

The Brunswick complex to the south, which consists of the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek fires, had already triggered evacuation orders and alerts for hundreds of homes in the region, about 200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

“Groundcrews are making good progress with mop up and patrol operations in the vicinity of the community of Boothroyd to the north,” the wildfire service said in its latest update.

The service added that the efforts to prevent the Ainslie Creek blaze from moving east coincided with crews assessing structure protection measures along the Highway 8 corridor linking Merritt to Spences Bridge, B.C.

An evacuation alert covering 61 properties near Merritt remained in effect, issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, while the Nooaitch Indian Band also told residents of its main reserve to get ready to leave on short notice last week.

Adam Hart, emergency program coordinator with the City of Merritt, said on Monday there was still a “large buffer area” between the city and perimeter of the Ainslie Creek blaze, but officials were monitoring the situation.

There are currently about 23 active wildfires in B.C., with six listed as out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2026.