Victoria, Whistler among B.C. communities that set heat records over Thanksgiving weekend

Another 16 hot weather records were broken in communities across B.C. on Sunday, including in Victoria and Whistler.

Temperatures in the provincial capital reached 21.7 C, narrowly beating the previous Oct. 9 record of 21.5 set back in 1979. Whistler saw highs of 23.2, breaking the record of 22.7 set in 1991.

Some of the records that were toppled over the Thanksgiving weekend were less than a decade old, but others date back to the first half of the 20th century. Vernon recorded a high of 22.6 C, breaking the previous Oct. 9 record of 22.2 set in 1906 – just six years after records were first collected in the area.

The full list of records broken Sunday includes, in alphabetical order:

Temperature records have been falling in communities across the province for weeks, during a period of unseasonably warm and dry weather that has created extreme wildfire risk and severe drought conditions in some areas.

There were 61 wildfires sparked over the last week, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service, including one that broke out east of Grand Forks Sunday and could be seen by travellers on Highway 3.

While cooler temperatures are forecast for Monday, there are also periods of significant wind expected in many areas. Gusts of up to 60 km/h could "toss loose objects and cause drought-weakened tree branches to break," potentially causing injuries, property damage and power outages, according to a special weather statement from Environment Canada.