Copyright 2000, Reuters
August 14, 2000

Firefighters in British Columbia, Canada's largest timber-producing province, were battling fires in the southeast corner Sunday that threatened popular hiking and camping sites, fire officials said.

Provincial fire information officer Steve Bachop said about 300 wildfires were burning in a wide area in the southeast, triggered by a vicious lightning storm three days ago.

The area is close to the Montana border where 430 Canadian firefighters are also battling lightning-sparked fires that have destroyed vast private and public land the size of the state of Vermont.

The fires have been burning since last week in 11 Western U.S. states in the worst fire season in nearly 50 years.

"We're still reeling from the effects of that storm," Bachop told Reuters, adding that the fires were sparked by 2,000 lightning strikes recorded over 12 hours of the storm.

He said the British Columbia blazes had destroyed about 1,730 acres along popular camping and hiking routes. About 500 firefighters were involved in trying to contain the blazes.

He said no homes had been destroyed, there had been no reports of injuries and no area had yet been closed to the public.

Warm, dry conditions were aggravating the situation and no rain is forecast until possibly late next week, Bachop said. Fires in British Columbia are common this time of year with volatile weather patterns.

"We're trying to urge caution and common sense in the back country to make sure people fully extinguish camp fires and cigarettes," Bachop added. Error: Unable to read footer file.