Thousands of residents in British Columbia’s wine and orchard region have been ordered to evacuate as a fast-moving wildfire nearly doubled in size overnight.
The Bald Range wildfire was burning out of control on Saturday and had grown to about 9,500 hectares, prompting evacuation orders in Summerland, Peachland and other areas west of Okanagan Lake.
Summerland, which has declared a state of emergency, has a population of about 12,000, while Peachland has about 6,500.
Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes says several farms have been affected, although the extent of damage to buildings remains unclear.
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The wildfire also disrupted electricity supplies in Summerland, while authorities issued a boil-water notice after untreated water entered the municipal system when the treatment plant was bypassed because of the fire.
Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have battled wildfires this year, fuelled by hot and dry conditions.
About 1,500 firefighters are currently deployed across British Columbia, where authorities have issued 38 evacuation orders and 49 alerts linked to more than 100 fires.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, wildfires have burned about four million hectares across Canada this year.
