Thousands told to evacuate in British Columbia as wildfire grows

Thousands of residents in British Columbia were ordered to evacuate on Saturday as a fast-moving wildfire in western Canada nearly doubled in size overnight.

The Bald Range wildfire was burning out of control and grew to about 9,500 hectares, prompting evacuation orders in Summerland, Peachland and other districts west of Okanagan Lake. The region produces most of BC's wine and is Canada's second-largest wine-producing area.

Summerland, which declared a state of emergency, has a population of about 12,000 according to the 2021 census, and Peachland is home to about 6,500 residents.

"A lot of farms have been affected. We don't know how many structures have been lost. They're still busy fighting the fire," Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said in a phone interview. "We have to brace ourselves for the worst."

Terry Fries of Summerland was watching a football game on Friday night when a neighbor advised him to get a bag ready as the fire grew. "At the time, it was still farther back, and you could see it behind the hills," he said. When BC authorities issued the evacuation order around midnight, he and his family drove north to Kelowna, a larger center.

The District of Summerland, about 45 km from Kelowna, lost power on Saturday due to the wildfire and issued a boil water notice for residents. The municipality said untreated water had entered the system after it bypassed the water treatment plant due to the wildfire.

Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have battled blazes this year as hot, dry weather fueled wildfires in dense forest areas. Firefighters from Mexico, Australia, France and New Zealand have helped battle the fires.

In BC, where hot and dry conditions have increased the risk of more fires spreading, about 1,500 firefighting personnel are deployed. The province has issued 38 evacuation orders and 49 alerts related to over 100 fires.

Fires have burned through 4 million hectares in Canada this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.