British Columbia declares emergency as wildfires force over 20,000 to evacuate

British Columbia announced a state of emergency on Saturday after a fast-moving wildfire destroyed homes and trapped residents, prompting the evacuation of more than 20,000 people from communities along Okanagan Lake. Premier David Eby said over 100 fires are active across the province, with nearly half out of control amid hot, windy conditions and prolonged drought.

The entire town of Summerland, home to about 12,000 residents, was ordered to evacuate overnight, along with roughly 8,000 people in and around Peachland. Officials have not yet confirmed the number of homes destroyed. Eby said some residents were rescued after becoming trapped, and search-and-rescue crews continue to sweep fire lines for additional victims. > "I know many families are facing an unimaginable day today," Eby said. "People have lost their homes. And many people have been displaced. Others are waiting for news about loved ones."

Cliff Chapman, director of wildfire operations for the BC Wildfire Service, said firefighting helicopters were redirected to rescue people who could not escape by road and that inter-agency cooperation prevented a worse outcome. He described fire conditions across the province as "explosive" and warned that other communities could face similar threats.

The Bald Range fire, first reported Friday evening, expanded to about 50 square kilometres within hours, overrunning the small community of Faulder and advancing roughly 15 kilometres toward Summerland at high speed. Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said the emergency declaration grants the province powers to restrict travel and secure accommodation for evacuees.

Erick Thompson, an emergency official with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, described the blaze as one of the "quickest-moving, fastest-growing" wildfires the region has experienced and said he had to leave the emergency operations centre to evacuate his own family. > "I had to leave the EOC to come and get my family to leave this area. We're heading south," he said in a video posted early Saturday.

Social-media videos showed homes burning as residents fled along roads flanked by flames. Homeowner Kerry Gold and her husband, Mike Elsinga, left their home around 12:30 a.m. after seeing fire spread beyond nearby mountains. > "It's scary. It's moving fast," Gold said. Elsinga added that they wanted to protect their home but also avoid being caught in the fire.

The province has seen increasingly severe wildfire seasons in recent years, leading to large-scale evacuations and smoke that drifts across Canada and the United States.