Thousands told to evacuate in western Canada as wildfire grows

Wildfires in western Canada have prompted authorities to order thousands of residents to evacuate. The Bald Range wildfire, located in British Columbia's wine and orchard region, has rapidly expanded overnight, doubling in size to approximately 9,500 hectares. The fire is threatening communities such as Summerland and Peachland, both of which have been issued evacuation orders due to the rapidly growing blaze.

Summerland, a town of around 12,000 people, has been declared under a state of emergency following the wildfire. Mayor Doug Holmes stated that the situation is dire and the community must prepare for the worst. A neighbor had warned residents about the fast-growing fire, prompting locals to evacuate. Summerland lost power on Saturday due to the wildfire and issued a boil water notice, as untreated water had contaminated the system after bypassing the treatment plant.

Meanwhile, the District of Summerland, approximately 45km away from Kelowna, has experienced power outages and water concerns. BC is one of several Canadian provinces experiencing wildfires this year, as hot and dry weather conditions have intensified the risk of more fires spreading. Authorities from Mexico, Australia, France, and New Zealand have contributed firefighting efforts.

BC has deployed about 1,500 firefighters to combat the blaze and has issued a total of 38 evacuation orders and 49 alerts related to over 100 fires. In total, wildfires have burned through 4 million hectares of land across Canada.