Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in western Canada after a fast-moving wildfire in British Columbia doubled in size and prompted officials to declare a state of emergency.
Police said one person had died in connection with the Bald Range fire, which is burning across about 53 square miles, or 136 sq km, in Summerland and surrounding areas, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
The fire was first detected on Friday and has since grown rapidly to 13,618 hectares, or 33,650 acres, officials said. More than 20,000 people across British Columbia have evacuated their homes, making it the province’s largest evacuation event of the summer.
Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes told Reuters: “We have to brace ourselves for the worst.” The community, which has a population of about 12,000, is among the areas hardest hit by the blaze. Evacuation orders have also affected parts of Peachland, home to about 6,500 residents, as well as nearby districts and Indigenous communities.
Canadian police said on Sunday that an 80-year-old woman from Meadow Valley, north-west of Summerland, had died suddenly while trying to flee her home with a family member. “Police believe her death to be a result of the wildfire,” police said in a statement.
Residents have described conditions changing with alarming speed as flames spread through hillsides, forested areas and residential neighbourhoods. Officials said the fire had burned with such intensity that it generated its own weather systems, creating lightning and further complicating efforts to contain it.
British Columbia Premier David Eby told a news conference on Saturday that one fire official had compared the blaze to “a bomb going off”. He said homes had been lost and properties destroyed, and that some people had become trapped when conditions changed rapidly and had to be rescued.
“Homes have been lost, and properties have been destroyed,” Mr Eby said. “Some people became trapped as conditions changed very quickly, and needed to be rescued.”
The state of emergency gives the provincial government access to special powers, including travel restrictions, supply protections intended to prevent price gouging, and additional resources to co-ordinate rescue and emergency response work.
Among those forced to flee was Summerland resident Keegan Radomski, who said she left her home moments before the fire reached her property. In video shared with the BBC, burning treetops could be seen just over a hill near the road where she was escaping.
“This is right by our house,” she said in the video, her voice trembling.
Ms Radomski said she had been unable to return since fleeing with seven others on Friday. She said she was waiting anxiously to learn whether her home was still standing, after neighbours who remained behind reported that many houses on their street had burned down.
“There are homes that have been confirmed gone, and a lot are in the area near our home. So, we’re pretty scared,” she said. “The uncertainty is scary.”
In Peachland, longtime resident Earl Kurz said the area had previously faced evacuation alerts, but this was the first time he had been ordered to leave. Mr Kurz, who has lived there for 30 years, said he was on a boat with his wife on Okanagan Lake on Friday afternoon when clear blue skies rapidly turned hazy grey.
By nightfall, he said, dark clouds of smoke and flames were visible as the fire moved towards the community. “We watched it from the lake,” he said. “It was unreal.” Hours later, police knocked on his door and told him and his wife to evacuate. The couple are now safe in a camper miles away.
Authorities have not yet confirmed how many buildings have been destroyed. Mr Holmes said farms had also been affected, adding that crews were still focused on fighting the fire and assessing losses.
“A lot of farms have been affected. We don’t know how many structures have been lost. They’re still busy fighting the fire,” he said.
Interior Health, the publicly funded health authority for the region, said hundreds of residents from Summerland care facilities, including senior housing, were being relocated to safer areas.
Evacuation orders have been issued by the regional districts of Central Okanagan and Okanagan-Similkameen, as well as Snpink’tn Indian Band and the districts of Summerland and Peachland, according to wildfire officials. Other areas remain under evacuation alerts, meaning residents may need to leave at short notice.
The evacuation has also affected animals and livestock. In the Okanagan region, where many residents keep horses, some people have struggled to move animals out of the path of the fire, Canadian broadcaster CBC reported. Residents told the outlet that some owners unable to relocate animals had left gates open in the hope they would find their own way to safety, while others had painted markings on them to make identification easier later.
The Bald Range fire is one of hundreds of wildfires to affect Canada this summer. Nearly 200 were burning in Ontario in July, sending air quality in Toronto to among the worst levels in the world for several days. Smoke from Canadian wildfires also drifted into parts of the United States, including Minnesota and New York.
Firefighters and emergency officials in British Columbia remain focused on protecting life and property as the blaze continues to burn out of control. Residents under evacuation orders have been told to stay away from affected areas until authorities say it is safe to return.
