BREAKING: British Columbia Declares Province-Wide State of Emergency as Wildfire Crisis Escalates

British Columbia has declared a province-wide state of emergency as rapidly growing wildfires continue to devastate communities across the province.

As of this evening, more than 21,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, while another approximately 10,000 people remain under evacuation alert, meaning they could be ordered to leave at a moment’s notice.

One of the hardest-hit communities is Summerland, where the entire district, home to roughly 12,000 residents, has been evacuated. The community is located about 15 minutes north of Penticton and approximately 1 hour south of Kelowna.

The Bald Range wildfire has become one of the most aggressive fires of the season.

The fire was first reported at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday. By around 8:00 p.m., evacuation orders for all of Summerland were being issued as the fire spread at an extraordinary pace.

Dozens of people who were unable to escape by road had to be rescued by helicopter.

In less than 24 hours, the fire exploded to more than 100 square kilometres in size.

The BC Wildfire Service has described the Bald Range fire as one of the most challenging fires crews have ever had to battle, citing extreme fire behaviour and rapidly changing conditions.

Across British Columbia, 105 wildfires are currently burning, and 70 of those fires have started within the last week, highlighting just how quickly the wildfire situation has deteriorated.