Alberta firefighters battle new blazes caused by lightning

The province is dealing with about 120 wildfires today, including several that have forced the closure of Highway 35 north of High Level.

"The past four days have seen a lot of lightning … that, combined with the warm temperatures and dry conditions have led to a lot of wildfires," said Geoffrey Driscoll, a wildfire information officer.

Driscoll said 15,000 lightning strikes were recorded in northern Alberta on Thursday, some of which sparked new wildfires.

"When you get that and you don't get much rain, you're going to get fires," he said.

It's been a busy year for the province's firefighters. Hot weather and lack of rain has lead to double the number of wildfires so far this year, compared to the same period in 2014.

Driscoll said fires are up about one-third when compared to the five-year average.

He said smoke from the fires, as well as others in British Columbia, will likely affect people living in other parts of Alberta.

While the vast majority of the fires are caused by lightning, Driscoll urged people to be careful not to spark new ones through careless burning.

"Firefighters will become overburdened very fast," he said.