Canada's federal government has announced it will provide urgent assistance to British Columbia due to widespread, fast-moving wildfires. Approximately 22,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, with a further 10,000 told to prepare for evacuation.
On Sunday, 102 wildfires were active across the province, with nearly half classified as "out of control" by the BC Wildfire Service. Of these, 78 ignited within the past week.
The community of Summerland, home to about 12,000 people, was evacuated overnight on Saturday, along with 8,000 individuals near Peachland. Eleanor Olszewski, Canada's minister of emergency management and community resilience, stated she approved a request for federal assistance to provide shelter and accommodation for those displaced.
The Bald Range wildfire, detected late Friday, expanded to more than 100 sq km within hours, spreading nearly 15km towards Okanagan Lake. British Columbia's premier, David Eby, declared a state of emergency late on Saturday, describing the blaze as "like a bomb going off."
Cliff Chapman, BC Wildfire Service's director of provincial operations, noted that prolonged hot and dry weather has created "explosive" fire conditions. Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire, indicated that the rapid spread of these fires is characteristic of increasingly extreme blazes in Canada and the US, driven by human-caused climate change.