By Grant Warkentin
UPDATE 2026-08-14 at 5:05 pm: Four wildfires caused by lightning last night near Gold River are now being held, thanks to the efforts of firefighters, but four more have been identified out of control north of Highway 19 just west of the Eve River bridge.
Three of the newest fires are in a cluster; the fourth is on the west side of Bonanza Lake. All are small, but currently flagged as “out of control” by the BC Wildfire Service. The causes of the newest fires have not been identified, but it’s likely they were also started by lightning.
In total there are now nine fires burning on the North Island.
This morning the Strathcona Standard reported that four wildfires popped up last night in the region west of Campbell River and north of Gold River, and were all likely caused by lightning strikes.
Those four fires are in a cluster outside the western boundary of Strathcona Provincial Park. Three are along the Gold River. The fourth is just east of Gold Muchalat Park, and closest to the Mowachaht/Muchalaht community on the Tsa Xana 18 reserve and the Village of Gold River.
All of the fires are small; each is smaller than 1,000 square metres.
The only other wildfire on Vancouver Island is north of this newest cluster, the Mount Alston fire, which has been burning since July 23, and is now being held at 0.2 hectares in size. That fire was also caused by a lightning strike.
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