Bald Range Fire Doubles in a Day, Forces 20,000 to Flee BC's Okanagan Valley

What happened

The Bald Range fire in British Columbia's Okanagan region has more than doubled in size since it was first spotted on Friday, growing to roughly 9,500 hectares (95 sq km) and forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate, according to the BC Wildfire Service via BBC and Al Jazeera. The entire town of Summerland, population about 12,000, and roughly 8,000 residents of neighboring Peachland were ordered out, and Summerland lost power as the blaze approached. The fire remained "out of control" as of Saturday morning, with a local emergency official calling it one of the fastest-spreading fires he has seen in the region.

• The Bald Range fire has grown to about 9,500 hectares (95 sq km) across the Summerland and Okanagan-Similkameen districts, per BC Wildfire Service data cited by BBC and Al Jazeera.
• More than 20,000 people have evacuated, including Summerland's entire population of roughly 12,000 and about 8,000 residents of neighboring Peachland, per BBC.
• The fire doubled in size since first being detected on Friday and remained classified as "out of control" as of Saturday morning, per BBC.
• Power was lost across Summerland as the fire approached, city officials said, per BBC.
• Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen emergency official Erick Thompson described it as one of the "quickest-moving, largest fires in such a short time" he has seen, then left the emergency operations center to evacuate his own family, per BBC.

What we don't know yet

• How many structures, if any, have been destroyed by the fire has not yet been confirmed, per BBC.
• The cause of the fire and a containment timeline have not been reported.

Why it matters

Tens of thousands of Okanagan Valley residents face prolonged displacement, property risk, and a power outage in Summerland while the fire remains uncontained, adding to a summer in which wildfire smoke from other Canadian blazes has already disrupted air quality as far as the U.S. East Coast.

Claims

• ConfirmedThe Bald Range fire has grown to about 9,500 hectares (95 sq km).
• ConfirmedMore than 20,000 people have been evacuated, including all of Summerland (about 12,000) and about 8,000 residents of Peachland.
• ConfirmedThe fire doubled in size since it was first detected on Friday.
• ConfirmedSummerland lost power as the fire approached.