Stefan Rahmstorf was holidaying in southern France when he came face to face with the climate future he has tried to fight.<\/p>\n
Evacuation orders were in place for Summerland, Peachland and other districts west of Okanagan Lake in the province’s southern interior.<\/p>\n
The region produces most of BC’s wine and is Canada’s second-largest wine-producing area.<\/p>\n
Premier David Eby told a news conference on Saturday that one fire official had likened the fire to “a bomb going off”.<\/p>\n
“He described flames on 100-foot tree, flames going 200 feet above that, and the fire creating its own weather system, which creates lightning, which then feeds on itself,” Mr Eby said.<\/p>\n
“Homes have been lost, and properties have been destroyed. Some people became trapped as conditions changed very quickly, and needed to be rescued,” the premier said, adding it remained a very dynamic and threatening situation.<\/p>\n
Summerland has a population of about 12,000 people, according to the 2021 census, and Peachland is home to about 6,500 residents.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bb0360ce0de3ed349e2aaca322f1d539.jpeg\")
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The fire painted the skies with orange hues. (Reuters: Paige Taylor White)<\/p>\n
A state of emergency grants the provincial government immediate access to special powers including travel restrictions and supply protections to prevent price gouging, and specific tools to coordinate rescue work.<\/p>\n
Officials said the Bald Range wildfire triggered the largest evacuation event so far this summer and more than 20,000 people across BC have been forced to evacuate their homes.<\/p>\n
“A lot of farms have been affected. We don’t know how many structures have been lost. They’re still busy fighting the fire,” Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said in a phone interview from Penticton.<\/p>\n
“We have to brace ourselves for the worst.”<\/p>\n
Overnight evacuation<\/p>\n
Many residents left overnight, driving south to Penticton or north to Kelowna before highways began to close.<\/p>\n
![\"Trees](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f2eecb854dd9eee38c06333488e896e.jpeg\")
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Trees burn in the Bald Range wildfire on Friday. (Reuters: BC Wildfire Service\/handout)<\/p>\n
Terry Fries of Summerland was watching a football game on Friday night when a neighbour advised him to get a bag ready as the fire grew.<\/p>\n
“At the time, it was still farther back, and you could see it behind the hills,” he said.<\/p>\n
When BC authorities issued the evacuation order around midnight, he and his family drove about 45 kilometres north to the city of Kelowna.<\/p>\n
By Saturday afternoon, ashes began to settle on cars and houses in nearby areas as the fire painted the skies with orange hues.<\/p>\n
Danube dries up<\/a><\/p>\n Europe’s second-longest river is carrying less water than it has in decades, revealing shipwrecks and shutting down nuclear reactors.<\/p>\n Several Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have battled blazes this year as hot, dry weather fuelled wildfires in dense forest areas. Firefighters from Mexico, Australia, France and New Zealand have helped combat the fires.<\/p>\n In BC, where hot and dry conditions have increased the risk of more fires spreading, about 1,500 firefighting personnel were battling more than 100 fires.<\/p>\n Fires have burned through 9.9 million acres in Canada this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.<\/p>\n Europe’s heatwave rages on<\/p>\n The fires in Canada follow what has also been a record-breaking summer so far across western Europe, with scorching temperatures and destructive wildfires.<\/p>\n
![\"Orange](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/34dd2a14096854ddb9242c4fc879b870.jpeg\")
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