British Columbia has declared a state of emergency after a rapidly expanding wildfire forced thousands of residents to leave their homes and destroyed properties in the southern interior of the Canadian province.
The Bald Range wildfire grew to about 9,500 hectares after nearly doubling in size overnight, according to officials. The blaze was burning out of control near Okanagan Lake and triggered evacuation orders in Summerland, Peachland and surrounding areas.
More than 20,000 people across British Columbia have been evacuated so far this summer, with the Bald Range fire prompting the largest evacuation operation of the season.
Premier David Eby described the situation as highly dangerous after speaking with emergency officials. One firefighter reportedly compared the intensity of the blaze to “a bomb going off”, with flames reaching far above the tops of trees and the fire generating its own weather conditions.
Eby said homes and other properties had already been destroyed and that some residents became trapped as conditions changed rapidly before being rescued.
Summerland, which has about 12,000 residents, and Peachland, with a population of roughly 6,500, were among the communities affected. Many residents fled overnight, travelling towards Penticton or Kelowna before sections of nearby highways were closed.
Videos shared by residents showed flames close to roads and buildings burning as people evacuated. Ash later settled across vehicles and homes in nearby communities, while smoke and flames turned the sky orange.
Summerland also lost power and issued a boil-water notice after untreated water entered the municipal system when the treatment plant was bypassed because of the wildfire.
Mayor Doug Holmes said farms had been affected and officials were still assessing the number of structures destroyed.
“We have to brace ourselves for the worst,” he said.
The provincial state of emergency gives the government additional powers to impose travel restrictions, protect essential supplies and coordinate emergency response operations.
British Columbia is experiencing a particularly challenging wildfire season, with hot and dry weather creating conditions that allow fires to spread quickly. About 1,500 firefighters were battling more than 100 active fires across the province, while authorities had issued 40 evacuation orders and 49 evacuation alerts.
The wider Canadian wildfire season has also placed pressure on emergency crews. Firefighters from Mexico, Australia, France and New Zealand have joined Canadian teams responding to blazes in several provinces.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, wildfires have burned about four million hectares across Canada this year.
The affected Okanagan region is also economically important, producing most of British Columbia’s wine and ranking as Canada’s second-largest wine-producing area. The extent of damage to farms, vineyards, homes and other businesses remained unclear as crews continued fighting the fire.
