Thousands of residents in British Columbia's wine and orchard region were ordered to evacuate on Saturday as a fast-moving wildfire in western Canada intensified.
The Bald Range wildfire was burning out of control and grew to about 9,500 hectares (23,500 acres), prompting evacuation orders in Summerland, Peachland and other districts west of Okanagan Lake. The region produces most of the province's wine and is Canada's second-largest wine-producing area.
Summerland, which declared a state of emergency, has a population of about 12,000 according to the 2021 census, and Peachland is home to about 6,500 residents.
"A lot of farms have been affected. We don't know how many structures have been lost. They're still busy fighting the fire," Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said in a phone interview.
The District of Summerland, lost power on Saturday due to the wildfire and issued a boil water notice for residents. The municipality said untreated water had entered the system after it bypassed the water treatment plant due to the wildfire.
Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have battled blazes this year as hot, dry weather fueled wildfires in dense forest areas. Firefighters from Mexico, Australia, France and New Zealand have helped battle the fires.
In British Columbia, where hot and dry conditions have increased the risk of more fires spreading, about 1,500 firefighting personnel are deployed. The province has issued 38 evacuation orders and 49 alerts related to over 100 fires.
Fires have burned through 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) in Canada this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
