The British Columbia government has declared a provincial state of emergency after a ferocious wildfire forced 20,000 people out of two communities along Okanagan Lake, with helicopters diverted from the fire fight plucking dozens to safety.
Premier David Eby said Saturday he was briefed on the fast-moving wildfire that roared toward Summerland and Peachland and was told it was “like a bomb” going off.
“The category five and six fires, the terminology they use, but it basically means that the fire goes across the top of the trees,” Eby said during a briefing on the wildfire on Saturday.
The fire created its own weather system with lightning, he said.
“This was a remarkable escalation in fire activity.”
Eby said some people became trapped by the fire and needed to be rescued, and search-and-rescue efforts continue behind the fire lines for anyone else who may have been caught.
The BC Wildfire Service said winds were carrying embers up to a kilometre ahead of the main body of the fire, that closed the 15 kilometres from its ignition point to Summerland in the east in a matter of hours.
Cliff Chapman, the director of wildfire operations with the BC Wildfire Service, said during the briefing that firefighting helicopters were diverted to rescue residents cut off by flames of the Bald Range fire.
“I am certain that the outcome of this event would have been significantly worse had we not worked together, multi-jurisdictionally across this fire, everybody stepping up to save people’s lives in Summerland.”
Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said 18 firefighting aircraft were used to rescue more than 50 people who were trapped by the flames.
The Summerland fire is one of several wildfires that have threatened communities and destroyed homes in the province this summer.
About 350 buildings, most of them homes, have been destroyed in fires in the Cariboo and Okanagan regions.
Eby said that the Bald Range fire destroyed homes, and although officials have not tallied destruction, the flame front overwhelmed the community of Faulder with several dozen homes destroyed as it raced toward Summerland.
A perimeter map put out by the BC Wildfire Service on Saturday suggests the fire rolled over numerous homes right to the waterline north of Summerland, and social media videos showed multiple homes ablaze as residents fled, with fire on both sides of the road.
“I know many families are facing an unimaginable day today. People have lost their homes. And many people have been displaced,” Eby said during the briefing. “Others are waiting for news about loved ones.”
A statement from Eby’s office after the briefing said reports have been confirmed of “significant structure loss.”
“Given this is an active fire zone, we will have to wait to provide any assessments later. That likely will come from local government officials,” the statement said.
Of the more than 100 wildfires burning in B.C. almost half of them are out of control, fuelled by hot and windy weather and long-standing drought conditions.
The wildfire service said the cause of the Bald Range fire was under investigation.
Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said the state of emergency declaration will give the province the tools it needs to be ready for the escalating wildfire situation.
“It will give us the ability to do things like commandeer accommodations or bring in local travel restrictions in specific areas if it should become necessary.”
She said there are no travel restrictions currently in place, but they’re asking people to avoid travelling to the Summerland area.
Highway 97 along the lake is closed from Peachland in the north to Penticton in the south.
Chapman said fire conditions in the southern part of the province are “explosive” and more wildfires similar to the one that forced the evacuation of Summerland could spring up.
The evacuation orders cover the entire community of Summerland, population 12,000, while a further 8,000 were rushed out in and around Peachland, both on the western shore of Okanagan Lake.
The blaze was first reported at 5:30 p.m. Friday, but it erupted in size, burning 50 square kilometres in a few hours, raining ash on Summerland. By Saturday afternoon it had doubled to 103 square kilometres.
Roads south from Summerland toward Penticton were jammed with evacuees after the order for the entire community to flee came down at midnight, followed by expanded orders covering communities north toward Peachland.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on social media that the federal government stood ready to help and support British Columbia in the fire fight.
Carney mentioned the thousands of people evacuated from their homes in Summerland and thanked the firefighters and first responders for “working tirelessly to keep people safe.”
“I’m keeping everyone forced from their homes in my thoughts and hoping they can return safely soon.”
Summerland homeowner Kerry Gold and her husband, Mike Elsinga, said in an interview before they fled around 12:30 a.m. Saturday that they could see flames licking the skies beyond the mountains.
“It’s scary. It’s moving fast,” Gold said from their newly restored heritage home.
Elsinga said the fire was heralded around 7 p.m. by a “massive plume” of smoke. Then Gold said there was “nothing but flames in the near distance.”
The couple just moved to the community from Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2026.
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press
