More than 20,000 residents were ordered from their homes as a rapidly expanding wildfire tore toward Okanagan Lake, destroyed structures and forced aerial rescues across parts of British Columbia.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
More than 20,000 people were forced to evacuate communities around Okanagan Lake after a fast-moving wildfire swept through parts of British Columbia, prompting provincial officials to declare a state of emergency Saturday as firefighters confronted dangerous heat, wind and drought conditions.
Premier David Eby announced the emergency while more than 100 wildfires were burning across the western Canadian province. Nearly half were considered out of control, and officials warned that conditions were “explosive” enough to place additional communities at risk.
The largest evacuations included Summerland, a community of approximately 12,000 people that was ordered to leave overnight, and Peachland and surrounding areas, where roughly 8,000 additional residents were told to evacuate.
Eby’s office reported “significant structure loss,” although authorities said the extent of the destruction could not yet be determined because the affected area remained an active fire zone.
The wildfire advanced so quickly that officials responsible for coordinating the emergency were themselves forced to evacuate. Erick Thompson, an emergency official with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, said he left the emergency operations center to retrieve his family.
“I had to leave the EOC to come and get my family to leave this area. We’re heading south,” Thompson said in a video recorded from his vehicle early Saturday as traffic backed up during the evacuation.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is also investigating a possible wildfire-related death near Summerland. Authorities have not been able to confirm the fatality because hazardous fire conditions have prevented investigators from safely reaching the area.
Search-and-rescue operations continued as officials worked to locate people who may have been caught in the fire’s path. Eby said some residents had become trapped as the flames advanced.
British Columbia Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said 18 firefighting aircraft were involved in rescuing more than 50 people.
“People have lost their homes. And many people have been displaced,” Eby said.
The Bald Range wildfire was first reported Friday evening and expanded to more than 100 square kilometers, or 39 square miles. Within a matter of hours, it traveled approximately 15 kilometers, or 9 miles, toward Okanagan Lake.
A perimeter map produced by the British Columbia Wildfire Service showed that the blaze had moved through areas containing numerous homes north of Summerland before reaching the lake. Social media videos appeared to show residences burning while evacuees drove along roads surrounded by flames.
Eby described the fire’s rapid expansion as “a remarkable escalation in fire activity.” He said the blaze became powerful enough to produce its own weather system and generate lightning.
Cliff Chapman, director of operations for the British Columbia Wildfire Service, characterized the conditions as “explosive” and warned that other communities could face similarly rapid wildfire growth.
The province’s emergency declaration gives authorities additional powers as they respond to the crisis. British Columbia Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said those authorities include restricting travel and obtaining accommodations for displaced residents that might not otherwise be available.
Highway 97, a major transportation corridor through the region, was closed between Peachland and Penticton as evacuation traffic filled area roads.
The latest emergency follows a series of increasingly destructive wildfire seasons in Canada that have resulted in mass evacuations and sent wildfire smoke across broad areas of both Canada and the United States.
At an evacuation center in Penticton, Summerland resident Anette Boulet described the approaching blaze as looking “like doomsday.”
Boulet said she escaped before dawn with her family and five dogs and did not know whether her home had survived the fire.
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