Wildfires in western Canada forces more than 20,000 people to evacuate

A fast-moving wildfire in western Canada has forced over 20,000 residents to evacuate their homes overnight, with the entire community of Summerland and around 8,000 others in nearby Peachland being ordered to leave. The Bald Range wildfire, which began on Friday evening, rapidly grew to 19 square miles within hours, overwhelming the smaller community of Faulder and spreading rapidly towards Summerland.

Emergency officials have described it as one of the quickest-moving, fastest-growing wildfires the region has experienced. The fire has destroyed homes and cut power throughout the District of Summerland. This event is part of a broader trend of increasingly destructive wildfire seasons in Canada, which has led to mass evacuations and smoke affecting large parts of Canada and the United States, including New York City, Chicago, Detroit, and Washington, D.C.

Brief written by urgent.news from CBS News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.