Rare Electrical Storm Leaves Havoc in its Wake

kc dyer
Aug 25
3 min read

Updated: Aug 27

Lightning ignites wildfires; hikers trapped on mountain

Lightning dances above Horseshoe Bay during Saturday's electrical storm. Photo by David Zhang.

The electrical storm that tore through the South Coast on Saturday night created chaos on a number of fronts. Thousands of lightning strikes peppered Vancouver Island and the South Coast, creating havoc at Vancouver International Airport and causing sweeping power outages.

Vancouver Island, which this season has experienced just a fraction of the wildfires it faced in 2025, was particularly hard-hit after taking the brunt of Sunday's storm.

Currently, 23 of the 54 wildfires burning in the Coastal Fire District were identified during or after the storm, though not all have been confirmed as lightning-caused. BC Wildfire says that 17 blazes are currently out of control in this district, and a total of 59 wildfires are out of control across the province.

Close to home, all the lightning-caused fires initially reported as out of control were quickly brought to heel by BC Wildfire crews, including the Lone Tree Creek wildfire just to the south of Lions Bay.

By mid-morning Sunday, fire crews had managed to contain a wildfire reported on Crumpet Mountain near Squamish. And another blaze identified near Whyte Creek above the Sea to Sky highway at Ansell Place was again attributed to a lightning strike. BC Wildfire helicopters circled the Sea to Sky area most of Sunday morning, assessing the status of the various fires, and two helicopters were brought in to water-bucket the Lone Tree Creek wildfire on Monday.

Lone Tree Creek wildfire photos courtesy LBSAR.

Pictures from the Lone Tree Creek wildfire show ground crew battling a tree in flames after a lightning strike, with smouldering forest floor complicating the job.

The fire was complex enough that Fire Chief Lorenzo De Arcangelis and the Village of Lions Bay declared an overnight evacuation alert for homes at the top of Oceanview Road and Kelvin Grove Way. (Details of how this event unfolded can be found HERE).

All the blazes along the Sea to Sky south of Squamish are currently rated as under control by BC Wildfire.

Hikers Spend an Uncomfortable Night

The storm also meant an uncomfortable night for a couple of hikers who were caught unprepared on the Howe Sound Crest Trail.

Lions Bay Search and Rescue (LBSAR) reported responding to a distress call from the hikers, who were suffering from hypothermia after their tent was damaged in the storm, leaving their equipment and clothing completely soaked. The hikers managed to make their way to an emergency shelter at Magnesia Meadows, where they called for help, and were ultimately located and transported by members of LBSAR.

After this rescue, LBSAR Training and Search Manager Maria Masiar had some advice for hikers. "When planning multi-day mountain trips, don't just look at the forecast for the days you expect to travel — look at the days that follow. Mountain storms can arrive earlier than forecast and delays can keep you out longer than planned. Whenever possible, look for a clear weather window of at least 48 hours around your travel period."

Masiar also said that if hikers are going to call 911 for help, they need to answer their phone when SAR calls.

She said that her team spent valuable time trying to reach the missing hikers directly, but due to an anomaly in Apple technology, the hikers did not receive SAR phone calls.

"This makes it much harder for rescuers to assess their condition and plan the response," said Masiar. "Keep your phone on, conserve the battery and answer calls from unfamiliar numbers after requesting help."

Yesterday, Metro Vancouver thanked LBSAR and Lions Bay Fire Rescue for their support in quenching the wildfire. "We are grateful for the quick, coordinated initial response by Metro Vancouver, BC Wildfire Service, Lions Bay Fire Rescue, and Lions Bay Search and Rescue, which helped minimize the fire’s impacts."

According to meteorologists at Environment Canada, the storm was the largest electrical event in the Lower Mainland in more than a decade.

August 27: The story has been edited to reflect a technology technicality. From LBSAR's Maria Masiar: "I initially thought the subjects were not picking up our phone calls, but the fact is that they never received them because Apple blocks contacts that are not your emergency contacts or family contacts while you are off grid."

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