The B.C. Wildfire Service says the cold front in northern B.C. is expected to generate strong winds, thunderstorms and the potential for dry lightning in the region plagued by drought.

Lytton, British Columbia, broke successive Canadian heat records early this week, with temperatures peaking at 121 degrees on Tuesday. Then the fires swept in.

Several people have drowned or been reported missing after swimming in Pacific Northwest bodies of water during the record-breaking heat wave in the past few days.

Because the heat coincided with the summer solstice, when the northern hemisphere gets “maximum energy” from the sun, "it was really kind of a one-two punch.”