Small Lightning-Caused Wildfires Ignite Near Cherryville, Needles, and Nakusp
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 19
Sunday July 19 2026 - Progress on Small Lightning-Caused Wildfires Near Cherryville, Needles & Nakusp
Near Cherryville (3 fires):
K40913 (Cherry Ridge) – Now Under Control at 0.009 hectares.
K40931 (Talbot Creek) – Now Being Held at 0.009 hectares.
K40899 (Fairbrother Creek) – 1.5 hectares (largest of the group); received Rapattack crew and helicopter support.
West of Needles:
N50873 (Barnes Creek) – Now Being Held at 1.2 hectares.
Across the Columbia from Nakusp:
N50921 (Low Pass) – Now Under Control at 0.1 hectares.
All fires remain small with no evacuation alerts or area restrictions in place. The quick response, believed to have included Rapattack firefighter insertion and aerial support (waterbombers, bird dog, and helicopter bucketing), has helped limit spread.
A positive update after the initial lightning starts earlier this week.
Update July 18, 2026 - VIDEO INCLUDED
A BC Wildfire Service crew was on the ground northwest of Cherryville today, working on one of three wildfires suspected to have been started by lightning. Early in the afternoon, the crew was joined by a helicopter that provided aerial support, dropping water from its bucket to assist firefighting efforts.
Video from Saturday July 18 2026 of wildfires - https://youtu.be/LcPI2Fw5rbY
UPDATE: 5:30 PM - Unconfirmed reports from the wildfire burning near Cherryville indicate a helicopter is now bucketing (water drops) on one of the three active wildfires northwest of the community. This follows the earlier reports of Rapattack crew insertion and midday sightings of waterbombers and a bird dog.
All fires remain small and out of control with no evacuations or area restrictions reported.
Original Story
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
Comments