The number of wildfires has soared in British Columbia as a hot, sunny week ended with thunderstorms and lightning in southern areas of the province.

BC Wildfire Service figures on Friday showed more than 110 active blazes, up from 68 on Wednesday, with more than 40 classified as burning out of control, compared to just a handful at the start of the week.

The wildfire service's website showed 37 new fire starts over the last 24 hours, with 10 blazes declared out.

The latest fires include clusters in remote areas northwest of Whistler and Pemberton, as well as the northwest Cariboo region.

The service's provincial situation report said parts of the Interior and the coastal fire centre saw dry thunderstorm activity Friday morning.

It said further lightning strikes were expected in the s

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