What you need to know about B.C. wildfires on Aug. 8

What you need to know about B.C. wildfires on Aug. 8

Bald Creek fire near Summerland displays explosive growth on Friday evening

Summerland declares state of emergency

A state of emergency was declared by the District of Summerland just after 10:30 p.m. PT due to the Bald Range wildfire burning near Okanagan Lake, around 15 kilometres west of Summerland.

Summerland had a population of over 12,000 people in 2021.

The wildfire grew aggressively to 50 square kilometres in the span of a few hours on Friday night.

In an update late Friday night, the BCWS said "conditions combined with elevated gusty winds out of the southwest resulted in rapid growth of wildfire to the northeast."

Rapid growth was expected overnight on Saturday, the service says, as winds carried embers from the fire up to a kilometre away.

Numerous districts issued evacuation orders and alerts Friday evening as a result of the new wildfire.

The Central Okanagan Regional District issued an evacuation order for properties in the Brent Road area, south of Peachland.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has issued an evacuation order for anyone in the Princeton-Summerland Road area.

Summerland resident Shannon Bedford said she noticed a lot of smoke drifting in, thinking it was from fires north of Summerland.

"It literally came in like a curtain," she explained.

She said she and her husband overheard firefighters directing residents to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, before she got her cat and husband in the car and headed to Kelowna.

"We've got ourselves, our animals and our son actually out in Penticton — so that [is] a bit nerve-racking trying to figure out how we [are] going to deal with that too."

Evacuation orders have been issued for residents south of Lillooet as the out-of-control Pear Lake wildfire continues to grow.

On Friday, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District issued an evacuation order for 16 properties in the Texas Creek area. The T'it'q'et First Nation also issued an evacuation order for five homes located on T'it'q'et Indian Reserve #2 Towinock.

Meanwhile, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued a new evacuation order for 57 properties south of Merritt in the Nicola Valley on Friday due to growth on the Ainslie Creek wildfire.

The district also issued an evacuation alert for 783 properties southwest of the city.

On the northwest end of Okanagan Lake, the Bradley Creek wildfire did not display significant growth this week, with the B.C. Wildfire Service saying the fire was 28.5 square kilometres in size as of Friday night.

The exact scale of the damage from the Bradley Creek fire is still being estimated, but the Okanagan Indian Band says at least 230 homes have been destroyed on its reserve.

Evacuees see destruction left behind by B.C.'s Bradley Creek wildfire

Staying on the west bank, farther south, the Quilpituk Creek wildfire is burning at just over one square kilometre as of Friday night.

The Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton — currently the largest in the province at roughly 1,364.5 square kilometres — has destroyed structures on around 120 properties in the area.

Since Thursday, the Ainslie Creek wildfire, part of the Brunswick Complex, has grown more than 50 square kilometres.

The BCWS said it continues to see active fire in the area above Highway 1 around Hell's Gate.

Arden McLeod, from Vancouver, is an associate producer with CBC News. He has a passion for community storytelling, local news, and reflecting the values of B.C. He graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology's broadcast and online journalism program. You can reach him at Arden.McLeod@cbc.ca.