The entire population of Summerland, in British Columbia's Okanagan, has been forced from home by a fast-moving wildfire. According to CBC News, the whole municipality is under an evacuation order because of the Bald Range wildfire, an order that affects roughly 12,000 residents. It marked a frightening and abrupt night for a community that had little warning before being told to flee.
The fire exploded in size in a matter of hours. The Bald Range wildfire grew rapidly to 50 square kilometres within hours, and the Provincial Wildfire Service says gusty winds fueled that growth and have complicated firefighting efforts. As of the morning after, the blaze was still burning out of control, with crews unable to get ahead of it.
For residents, there was very little time to react. The fire was only actually detected at about 5:30 p.m. local time, and people stood by and watched it grow before their eyes. By around midnight, some 12,000 people were told to get out, scrambling to gather what they could and leave as the flames advanced on the town.
The danger extended beyond Summerland itself. A number of adjacent rural properties, as well as properties in the Peachland area, were also placed under evacuation order. With the fire moving quickly and unpredictably, officials widened the zone of people told to leave rather than risk anyone being trapped.
Some evacuees have already lost everything. George Russell, who spoke with a CBC crew at an evacuation centre, said his home did not survive. "Yeah, our house is gone," he said, adding that he had also learned his neighbour's house was gone. "When I was leaving, the whole hill behind us was on fire and coming down," Russell said, noting he still had to go tend to his animals and find a place to sleep.
Others described the wrenching choices of a rushed escape. Aaliyah Gibbs, who lives on a farm in the evacuation zone, left with her boyfriend and her younger sister, while her father stayed behind with RCMP to try to keep the property safe. "It's just a horrible feeling," she said, describing the difficulty of leaving behind animals and belongings just to get to safety.
Crews had tried to hold the line from the air. The B.C. Wildfire Service was using air tankers to attack the fire from the east to stop it from spreading toward where most of the town's residents are, but when winds picked up and conditions became dangerous overnight, they had to abandon that approach and focus on structure protection. Evacuees, who faced a tricky journey out, are now being directed to the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, where food, volunteers and emergency services are on site, and are being urged to register, which can be done online.