Canada wildfires force 20,000 to flee as British Columbia declares state of emergency

A state of emergency has been declared in British Columbia, Canada, due to a fast-moving wildfire that has forced over 20,000 people to flee their homes. The Bald Range fire, which started on Friday, has grown rapidly and now covers an area of over 9,500 hectares. According to MyJoyOnline Ghana, it occupies more than 36 sq miles across the Summerland and Okanagan-Similkameen districts.

The fire, described by British Columbia Premier David Eby as being like a "bomb going off", has destroyed homes and properties, with some people becoming trapped and needing to be rescued. The district of Summerland, with a population of around 12,000, was ordered to evacuate, and hundreds of residents living in care facilities were relocated to safer areas. The power also went out across the area.

The wildfire is one of many fires challenging emergency crews across British Columbia, with 105 currently burning, according to British Columbia Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar. According to DW News, 70 new wildfires have been reported over the past week. The province has seen 4 million hectares scorched by fires this year, with blazes flaring up in several regions, including Ontario and Quebec.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Times of Israel, MyJoyOnline Ghana, DW News, DW English (Top Stories), NDTV — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.