Bald Range Wildfire in British Columbia Doubles in Size, Forces 20,000 to Evacuate

A fast-moving wildfire in British Columbia has grown to more than 36 square miles (95 square kilometers) across the Summerland and Okanagan-Similkameen districts, forcing over 20,000 people to flee their homes as of Saturday morning. The blaze doubled in size since it was first detected on Friday, per BBC reporting.

Summerland's entire population of around 12,000 people received evacuation orders, according to BBC World. About 8,000 residents of the neighboring town of Peachland were ordered to evacuate as well. Power was lost across Summerland early Saturday, city officials said. The fire remained out of control as of Saturday morning, with firefighters working to contain the advance.

Erick Thompson, an emergency official with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, described this as one of the "quickest-moving, largest fires in such a short time" he had seen in the fire-prone region, per BBC reporting. The urgency forced Thompson himself to leave the emergency operations center to evacuate his own family. "I had to leave the EOC to come and get my family to leave this area. We're heading south," Thompson said.

Residents unable to rescue livestock and pets left gates open in hopes the animals would find their own way to safety, according to BBC World. Some owners painted markings on their animals to make them easier to identify after evacuation. As of the reporting date, it was not yet clear how many structures had been destroyed in the blaze.

The brief carries no information on the fire's origin or cause, the current status of containment efforts, expected timeline for controlling the fire, or estimates of animal losses or rescues.