Wildfire forces evacuations across top Canadian wine region

Ari Altstedter, Bloomberg News on Aug 8, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

More than 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate one of Canada’s top wine-producing regions as an uncontrolled wildfire spread rapidly, forcing local authorities to declare a province-wide state of emergency.

Authorities ordered the town of Summerland and nearby communities in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley to be evacuated on Saturday as the Bald Range wildfire advanced. The fire, first reported Friday afternoon, doubled over the course of Saturday to 9,500 hectares (23,475 acres), with some residents trapped behind the fast-moving fire front, according to the latest estimates.

“The fires are moving incredibly quickly,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said in a press conference. “What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours is a step change, a significant departure in fire behavior in the province.”

Eby declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon to give authorities more tools to respond to the worsening fires, including the ability to commandeer accommodation for evacuees and impose future travel restrictions on affected areas. Eby said no travel restrictions are currently in place.

Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on social media Saturday that the federal government “stands ready to help and support the government of British Columbia in these efforts.”

Last month, a blaze in the eastern Canadian province of Ontario produced smoke that darkened skies and worsened air quality as far south as Washington, D.C. The Bald Range fire in British Columbia is similarly the product of hot and dry summer weather, while strong winds have contributed to its fast rate of growth.

The evacuations in and around Summerland amount to one of the biggest in British Columbia’s history, authorities said, while warning the danger of more fires in other parts of the province is high.

Firefighters were seeing “conditions we have never seen before” on the ground, Cliff Chapman of the BC Wildlife Service said in the press conference, calling the situation “explosive.”

“The potential of having another fire like this in BC is very real,” while more evacuations are expected, Chapman said.

Located about 400 kilometers (248.55 miles) inland from Vancouver and almost 500 kilometers northeast of Seattle, the Okanagan Valley produces a wide variety of wines thanks to its warm and sunny climate. Dotted with lakes and surrounded by mountain ranges, the area is a popular summer tourist destination for visitors from around Canada and the world.

Firefighters, helicopters and air tankers have been dispatched to battle the blaze, with multiple aircraft repurposed overnight to rescue individuals trapped behind the fast moving fire front, authorities said.