79 wildfires have been sparked in B.C. in just 2 days

Record temperatures spark rare light show Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far and the warm weather also sparked quite the light show.

VANCOUVER — The BC Wildfire Service says 79 wildfires have been sparked in the last two days -- in the wake of a fierce lightning storm that moved across southern B.C. Sunday night.

The wildfire service website says 74 per cent of the new fires were caused by lightning, including 14 of 15 reported on southern Vancouver Island.

Most remain very small, with only a handful larger than a hectare -- although a fire on the eastern shore of Sooke Lake, east of Langford, is listed at eight hectares and considered out of control.

In all, 475 fires have been reported across B.C. since the start of the fire season in April and the wildfire service says almost 85 per cent of them have been extinguished.