A wildfire in B.C.’s Interior that killed one person and displaced more than 20,000 others grew dramatically over the weekend as firefighters worked around the clock to defend homes and communities.
The Bald Range wildfire was discovered Friday on the west side of Okanagan Lake and grew to 136 square kilometres by Sunday. It had torn through 50 square kilometres in its first three hours and doubled in size by Saturday, when B.C. declared a provincewide state of emergency, as people fled their homes en masse.
Evacuation orders cover the entire district of Summerland, a community in the hot and dry Okanagan Valley that is home to about 12,000 people and is known for its orchards, vineyards and wineries.
About 8,000 others were forced from their homes in Peachland and nearby communities on Saturday, and a new evacuation order was issued Sunday for the Brent Lake and Shingle Creek area. Thousands of other properties are under evacuation alert. Around 55 people have been airlifted out of affected areas.
Nicole Bonnett, a fire information officer with BC Wildfire Service, said crews have maintained a 24-hour response since the fire began and were working Sunday on several fronts to protect communities and contain the blaze.
Thick smoke that has limited aerial operations has also tempered wildfire activity, allowing ground crews to make more progress.
“However, if the air clears, the fire is going to return to being extremely active, and then that will become quite a big challenge,” Ms. Bonnett said.
Penticton RCMP confirmed Sunday that northwest of Summerland an 80-year-old woman who was attempting to leave her Meadow Valley home with a family member on Friday died suddenly. Police believe the death to be a result of the wildfire; the BC Coroners Service is conducting an investigation to confirm the exact cause.
Summerland resident Brandon Bishop had just arrived home from work Friday afternoon when his wife alerted him to a possible fire up the hill. He hopped back in his truck to investigate, quickly locating the flames and BC Wildfire Service personnel who told him the wind was pushing it toward town.
Evacuees gather at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, after fleeing from the Bald Range wildfire on Saturday.Paige Taylor White/Reuters
“At that point, I turned around and called my wife and told her right then and there, ‘I think you should pack. I think we’re going to be leaving here pretty quick,’ ” he said in an interview on Sunday.
Mr. Bishop raced home. As the sky turned a menacing orange, he and his family quickly loaded their most precious cargo into two pickup trucks: their eight-week-old daughter, his in-laws, two dogs, a cat, five reptiles, some clothes and small valuables. Mr. Bishop estimates they had 40 minutes in all.
The Bishops were down the road when they doubled back to grab frozen breastmilk for their daughter. By then, the flames were within 100 feet of the house. They would confirm later through another resident’s video that the home his wife grew up in was gone.
Emergency crews direct traffic at a closed section of Highway 97, south of Peachland, B.C., on Saturday.Gary Nylander/The Canadian Press
Mr. Bishop spent Sunday registering his family with emergency support services. They plan to stay with friends as they sort out longer-term plans.
He said he is feeling “sad, lost and confused,” but noted that his family still escaped with more than some others had.
The federal government said it is responding to a request from B.C. to find shelter space and is doing an assessment of federal sites that might be provided for shelters.
“Everything is on the table,” Mathis Denis, communications director for federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, said in an interview Sunday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa is working with B.C. to support those who have been forced from their homes and communities.
“To everyone impacted by these wildfires, and to the brave firefighters and first responders on the front lines: Canada is with you,” Mr. Carney wrote on social media.
Jennifer Pascoa and her 12-year-old daughter, Emery, have been camping out at an emergency evacuation centre in Penticton all weekend after the wildfire moved closer to their small Summerland cul-de-sac. They count themselves “as one of the lucky ones,” because, as far as they know, their home is okay.
“Some of Emery’s schoolmates, however, have lost everything they owned – everything,” Ms. Pascoa, 51, said Sunday.
She and her daughter stuffed their bags with any belongings they could get a hold of, rushing to empty their fridge and grab their air mattress just before midnight on Friday. An ominous plume of dark smoke trailed their vehicle, as they headed toward safety.
“When we saw the fire from afar, we just kept hoping they were only trees, not homes – please, oh please,” Ms. Pascoa said.
The mother and daughter have been floored by the support they’ve received in Penticton. “Every few minutes, someone comes up to us and asks if we need anything,” Emery said. “They keep asking us, ‘Can I sit with you? Can I give you a hug? Do you need any food? How can I help?’”
Eva Hartmann, founder of Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, said the fire swept through their facility, the only such animal sanctuary in the region. It happened so fast that the only thing they could do was escape with the critters in their care, she said.
Once they left, security cameras confirmed that flames had engulfed their entire compound. Now, they’ll do their best to build up again, she said.
“Even our own house and car on the same property is gone – just like that,” Ms. Hartmann said by phone from Kaleden, B.C.
As of Sunday, there were 103 active wildfires across B.C., including four of note that are highly visible or pose a threat to public safety.
The Bald Range wildfire has forced 20,000 people out of their homes in the south Okanagan region.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Fire officials, who said there have been 70 new fires in the past seven days, warned that drought-like conditions and high temperatures could spark more flames.
Kevin Dunbar, the executive director of response and recovery operations at B.C.’s Ministry of Emergency Management, said Saturday that the large number of people required to evacuate in such a short time had placed significant pressure on available accommodation capacity.
Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said it has been difficult to see his community struggling like this. He left his home at 3:30 a.m. Saturday, joining a winding convoy that travelled toward Penticton, while the fires closed down north-bound highways.
He said the flames touched down on barns, orchards, vineyards and infrastructure across the valley. But he is trying to hold space for hope.
“Everything behind us is on fire now. It’s going to be a challenging time ahead, but we’ll get through it.”