Several wildfires were sparked by lightning across Vancouver Island overnight, according to the Coastal Fire Centre.

The largest fire discovered after a thunderstorm swept the island is burning south of Vernon Lake, and about 30 kilometres south of Woss.

The blaze was reported to be four hectares in size and was attacked by air tankers on Wednesday. Two helicopters and a crew of 15 firefighters were battling the blaze on Thursday, according to the fire centre.

Other lightning-caused fires currently burning on the island include a 0.6-hectare blaze three miles southeast of Mount Washington, and a 0.3-hectare fire five miles southeast of the ski resort.

Other small fires measuring around 100 square metres are burning near Paradise Creek and Hanging Creek.

A 0.01-hectare human-caused fire was discovered on the South Island near Fleet River, west of Koksilah Ridge.

The new fires on the island are just a fractoin of the 98 new wildfires sparked across the province overnight, with many chalked up to lightning strikes.