The Canadian military has been placed on standby to support wildfire response efforts in British Columbia, where fast-moving fires have killed one person and forced about 20,000 residents to leave their homes.
Dozens of wildfires have continued to burn across the province, with nearly half listed as out of control amid hot, windy conditions and prolonged drought. Officials warned that additional communities could still be threatened as crews work to protect homes and infrastructure.
The community of Summerland, home to about 12,000 people, was ordered to evacuate Saturday night, along with around 8,000 people in and around nearby Peachland. Local officials said affected areas remain unsafe to enter and that the full extent of the damage has not yet been confirmed.
The Bald Range wildfire, which advanced toward communities along Okanagan Lake over the weekend, remained out of control.
Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said residents should prepare for difficult news when they are eventually able to return. “We need to brace ourselves for that bad news when it’s time to go back. Everybody will know somebody who has lost a home,” Holmes said.
Defense Minister David McGuinty said the Canadian Armed Forces were in regular contact with provincial and federal officials and were prepared to assist if British Columbia formally requested military support. The federal government has already approved provincial requests for help with shelter and accommodations.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said an 80-year-old woman died while trying to escape the fire near Summerland. Prime Minister Mark Carney described the death as heartbreaking and said the federal government would continue to support British Columbia.
The RCMP said the cause of the wildfire remains under investigation.
The British Columbia Wildfire Service said the Bald Range fire had grown to approximately 60 square miles. Officials said clearer skies and direct sunlight could increase fire behavior.
Incident commander Hugh Murdoch said about 99 wildland firefighters and 120 structure protection personnel were working on the fire, supported by heavy equipment and helicopters. He said 100 firefighters from Mexico were expected to join crews Tuesday morning.
British Columbia Forestry Minister Ravi Parmer said 19 helicopters had been assigned to the Bald Range wildfire, but that the fire’s intensity made suppression efforts extremely difficult.
“We could have put a thousand more helicopters and a thousand more people on the ground, and it wouldn’t have made a difference,” Parmer said.
British Columbia Wildfire Service spokesperson Nicole Bonnett said smoke over the fire area had reduced visibility, limiting the use of air tankers and water-skimming aircraft.
Bonnett said the fire had been driven mainly by extremely dry conditions rather than wind. She said it grew rapidly Friday, reaching 19 square miles within three hours.
Summerland Chief Administrative Officer Graham Statt said residents would be allowed to return to their neighborhoods in phases, although no timeline has been announced.
Holmes said residents would not be going home “anytime soon” and that re-entry could not begin until the fire was under control.
Kyla Gaudiuso, a resident of the small community of Faulder, said her home was likely destroyed after she received a photo showing the ridge where it stood engulfed in flames.
Gaudiuso described the evacuation as “pandemonium” and said she was staying with a friend in Penticton.
“It doesn’t really seem real,” she said. “I have to see it to believe it.”
Canada has faced increasingly destructive wildfire seasons in recent years, with large-scale evacuations and smoke impacts affecting communities across Canada and the neighboring United States.
Summerland is a farming community known for cherries, peaches, apples, and vineyards. The surrounding mountainous terrain has experienced previous wildfire activity.
Holmes said the fire started around 5:30 p.m. Friday and reached city limits within hours. By midnight, he said, conditions were so severe that residents could not evacuate north by highway and instead began leaving to the south.
“People said they’ve never seen a fire move so fast,” Holmes said.
