The Bradley Creek wildfire in British Columbia's North Okanagan has now destroyed roughly 230 homes and forced thousands more from their communities, according to CBC News, as crews described the worst fire activity they have ever seen in the province's southern Interior. The chief of the Okanagan Indian Band said around 30 members' homes were destroyed by the fire, along with about 200 homes belonging to non-Indigenous residents. He said that while the wildfire is measured in hectares and structural loss, for his community it is measured in homes, family histories, and the places where people have spent all of their lives.
Evacuations have continued to grow since the fire tore through the region, according to the report. The province said evacuation orders expanded on Tuesday, with about 7,300 people ordered out, and officials later put the number forced from their homes across British Columbia at around 8,000. Another roughly 7,000 people have been told to pack a bag and be ready to leave at a moment's notice, as the number of evacuees continues to rise.
Among those who have lost their homes are Wayne Jones and Karen Royston, who spoke from an evacuation centre in Vernon, according to CBC News. They said they were forced out with their two dogs and only the clothes on their backs, having stepped out for a while and then being unable to get back into their community. "It's devastating. We don't know what's going to happen. When you're at our age, what are we going to do now?" one of them said, adding that their sons and many friends had offered to help them.
Two out-of-control wildfires, the Bradley Creek and Quilpitic Creek fires, remain a threat to neighbourhoods in the Okanagan, according to the report. The Bradley Creek fire tore through the Okanagan Indian Band community over the weekend with little notice, leaving some residents with no homes to return to. The nearest city, Vernon, sits on the east side of Okanagan Lake, and its mayor, Victor Cumming, said that while the immediate threat appeared to have calmed, his team had a fully staffed emergency operations centre and support services set up for those on the west side.
Officials described how the fire grew so quickly, according to CBC News. It sparked on July 31 in BC's North Okanagan but did not show significant growth at first. Then, on August 1, a cold front swept across the province, bringing challenging conditions on top of a severe drought. Winds had been forecast to gust up to 70 kilometres an hour, but crews on the ground instead saw sustained winds of 80 kilometres an hour, reaching up to 115 kilometres an hour at elevation, strong enough to crank up fire activity fast and make it far more dangerous for crews on the ground and in the air.
It was not only the strength of the winds but their unpredictable direction that made the fire so dangerous, officials said, according to the report. A first wind shift came on fast, driving the fire aggressively to the east, and later in the evening the winds shifted again, pushing it to the northeast, where it crossed Highway 97. Crews in southern BC said they faced the worst fire activity they had ever seen, with thousands evacuated and dozens of properties destroyed.
The Okanagan blazes are part of a much larger emergency, with about 116 wildfires burning across British Columbia, most of them in the southern Interior, and much of Metro Vancouver blanketed in smoke, according to CBC News. Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar said the fire season had been very challenging and was far from over, noting that August and September are typically the most devastating months for forest fires. The province warned that hot weather this week, with temperatures in the 30s, could pose fresh challenges for firefighters trying to control the blazes.