Wildfires Force Evacuations in British Columbia and Washington, Two Pilots Killed in Utah Crash
More than 20,000 people fled wildfires in British Columbia while Washington crews continued mop-up operations; a helicopter crash in Utah killed two pilots.
Over 20,000 residents were ordered to evacuate communities along Okanagan Lake in British Columbia after a fast-moving wildfire destroyed homes and required aircraft rescues. In Summerland, families left early Saturday as smoke enveloped the town, and an 80-year-old woman died while attempting to escape. The Bald Range fire prompted the evacuation of about 8,000 people in nearby Peachland, leading the province to declare a state of emergency.
Canada’s minister of emergency management and community resilience announced on social media that federal assistance had been approved to provide shelter and accommodations for those displaced.
In the United States, fire crews near Spokane, Washington, continued mop-up work on three blazes that have damaged or destroyed roughly 920 structures. None of the fires were expanding, and a suspect has been arrested for allegedly starting the largest of the three. Residents of Malden, a small town 35 miles south of Spokane, were initially urged to evacuate but the order was later downgraded as wind conditions calmed.
Separately, two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed while fighting a wildfire in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest. The crash was confirmed on Saturday, and the National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation.
"I’ve been here 65 years. It’s never happened," said Laurie Allen, a resident of Nine Mile Falls who fled with her family and pets.
"You couldn’t see barely. It was just dark, and the ridge of fire just coming towards you," said Anette Boulet, who evacuated from Summerland.
"When we first got there we could see two different plumes of smoke, one from the crash site, one from an active fire coming towards us," said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis.