Authorities Warn Residents to Prepare to Leave As Wildfires Spread Across Western Canada

Authorities warn residents to be prepared to leave their homes as fast-moving wildfires spread across western Canada. The district of Summerland in British Columbia has issued evacuation orders, as powerful wildfires continue to sweep across western Canada. A state of emergency was declared early on Saturday morning, with thousands displaced from their homes as the Bald Range wildfire continues to burn out of control.

Summerland and Faulder and Peachland. Tonight our hearts are heavy as we watch the Bald Range wildfire. The firefighters and first responders are doing an incredible job and my heart is with them, as well as all the evacuees and volunteers, Amelia Boultbee, a Canadian MP representing Penticton-Summerland, wrote in a social media post on Friday night.

The district is home to about 12,000 people, according to the 2021 census. On Saturday, local officials announced that the area had lost power due to the fire and instructed residents to boil water. Saturday morning’s evacuation orders affect the Peachland watershed, the Brenda Mines area, Lower Princeton and its downtown core areas, according to Emergency Info BC, a provincial government service.