The fast-moving Bald Range Fire in British Columbia has doubled in size, killing at least one person and forcing thousands to flee as over 100 blazes burn across the province.
12:02 AM
A fast-moving wildfire in British Columbia has killed at least one person, destroyed homes, and forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate communities along Okanagan Lake in western Canada over the weekend.
The Bald Range Fire, which authorities detected Friday, nearly doubled in size overnight and has burned approximately 136 square kilometers, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Premier David Eby announced a state of emergency Saturday as more than 100 wildfires burned across the province, with nearly half of them out of control amid hot, windy weather and prolonged drought.
Summerland, home to about 12,000 people, was ordered evacuated overnight, along with approximately 8,000 people in and around nearby Peachland. Residents fled on jammed roads as officials warned that "explosive" conditions could threaten additional communities. One resident, Anette Boulet, described evacuating Summerland around 4:30 a.m. Saturday when her home was already engulfed in smoke. "Barely you could see. It was, it was all dark, and the crest, the crest of fire came straight at you," she said.
Aerial response teams were converted to emergency evacuation personnel, with eighteen aircraft used to rescue more than 50 individuals from the fire zone, said Ravi Parmar, minister of forests of British Columbia. Officials confirmed "significant structure loss" but said they could not yet assess the full damage because the area remained an active fire zone.
The fire has grown strong enough to interfere with atmospheric conditions and create its own weather system capable of producing lightning, according to authorities.
Wildfires are also burning across the western United States. More than 40 large wildfires are burning in the West, fueled by severe drought. The Bug Fire near Reno, Nevada, has burned more than 15,000 acres and forced thousands of residents to evacuate over the weekend. In Utah, two pilots were killed Friday after their helicopter crashed while fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire, which has grown to more than 100,000 acres.
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