Wildfires in western Canada forces more than 20,000 people to evacuate
The Bald Range wildfire was first reported on Friday evening.
Updated on: August 8, 2026 / 12:08 PM EDT / AP
More than 20,000 people were ordered to leave their homes overnight in western Canada as a fast-moving wildfire grew rapidly and raced toward towns along British Columbia's Okanagan Lake, destroying homes in its path.
The entire community of Summerland, home to about 12,000 people, was ordered evacuated, along with about 8,000 people in and around nearby Peachland. Officials had not determined how many homes were destroyed. The city said that power has been lost throughout the District of Summerland.
Erick Thompson, an emergency official with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen , called it one of the "quickest-moving, fastest-growing" wildfires the region had experienced.
Thompson eventually had to abandon the emergency operations center and evacuate his own family.