Fast‑moving wildfire in British Columbia forces mass evacuation
The Bald Range wildfire, first detected on Friday in the remote Okanagan‑Similkameen district, has surged to more than 36 square miles (95 square kilometres) by Saturday morning, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Emergency officials called it one of the "quickest‑moving, largest fires in such a short time," and described it as still "out of control." The blaze painted the hills around Summerland with red flames and wrapped the night sky in black smoke.
The city’s entire population of roughly 12,000 people was ordered to evacuate, along with about 8,000 residents of neighbouring Peachland, as power lines were cut and the fire approached their homes. Emergency official Erick Thompson, speaking from the Regional District of Okanagan‑Similkameen, relayed evacuation orders.
In a video posted from his car the next morning, Thompson said he had left the emergency operations centre to evacuate his own family, saying, "I had to leave the EOC to come and get my family to leave this area. We're heading south."
Residents were forced to leave with little time for packing, and many tried to evacuate livestock. Some owners painted markings on horses to help identify them later, hoping the animals would find their own way to safety.
The exact number of structures destroyed remains unclear, but the fire’s rapid expansion has forced large‑scale displacement and disrupted utilities in a region known for its fire‑prone landscape.
