Small Lightning-Caused Wildfires Ignite Near Cherryville, Needles, and Nakusp

July 17 2026: Cherryville, B.C. – Several small wildfires sparked by lightning have been reported in the Cherryville, Needles, and Nakusp areas over the past two days, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

The fires remain out of control but are currently limited in size, with crews responding, including a Rapattack team on one incident.

K40899 (Fairbrother Creek), located in the Kamloops Fire Centre, was discovered on July 17, 2026, and had grown to 1.5 hectares as of an update at 1:34 p.m. PDT. A

It is listed as out of control and suspected to be lightning-caused.

K40913 (Cherry Ridge), approximately 5–10 km northwest of Cherryville, was also discovered on July 17, 2026. The fire is out of control at 0.009 hectares and lightning-caused.

N50873 (Barnes Creek), in the Southeast Fire Centre and believed to be the fire roughly 10 km east of Needles and across the Columbia River from Nakusp, was discovered earlier on July 16, 2026. It measured 1.2 hectares as of an update on July 17 at 8:58 a.m. PDT. This fire is out of control and lightning-caused.

Two additional small fires were reported on July 17:

• K40931 (Talbot Creek) in the Kamloops Fire Centre: 0.009 hectares, discovered July 17 (updated 2:09 p.m. PDT), lightning-caused, out of control.

  
  

• N50921 (Low Pass) in the Southeast Fire Centre: 0.009 hectares, discovered July 17 (updated 11:33 a.m. PDT), cause under investigation, out of control.

  
  

No evacuation alerts or orders have been issued for any of these incidents, and there are no current area restrictions nearby.

The BC Wildfire Service continues to monitor and respond to the fires.

BC Wildfire Service encourages residents in the Cherryville, Needles, and Nakusp areas to check the BC Wildfire Service website or contact their local authority for the latest updates as conditions can change rapidly.

Small Lightning-Caused Wildfires Ignite Near Cherryville, Needles, and Nakusp