British Columbia district declares state of emergency, issues evacuation orders as wildfire rages

TORONTO, Aug 8 - A state of emergency was declared by the district of Summerland, British Columbia, early Saturday as a fast-moving wildfire swept through western Canada, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.

The Bald Range wildfire was burning out of control and had grown to about 5,000 hectares as of early Saturday, after prompting evacuation orders in other regional districts this week. The fire originated about 15 kilometers (9 miles) west of Summerland, according to BC Wildfire Service.

The district of Summerland, which is about 45 kilometers from Kelowna, said it lost power on Saturday due to the impact of the wildfire and issued a boil water notice for residents, saying untreated water had entered the system after the water treatment plant was bypassed due to the wildfire threat.

Summerland has a population of about 12,000, according to a 2021 census.

Several regions in Canada, including Ontario and Quebec, have battled blazes this year as hot, dry weather fueled wildfires in dense forest areas. Canada has received assistance from Mexico, Australia, France and New Zealand to help fight them.

In British Columbia, where hot and dry conditions increase the risk of new fires and lightning could spark holdover fires, about 1,500 firefighting personnel are deployed across the province. The province has also issued 39 evacuation orders and 49 alerts.

Premier David Eby said earlier this week that the province has sufficient resources, and was prepared with additional national and international firefighters and aircraft.

Fires have burned through 3.9 million hectares in Canada this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. REUTERS