Evacuations underway as new Okanagan, B.C., wildfire explodes in size
Evacuations are underway around Summerland, B.C., after a new wildfire west of Okanagan Lake exploded in size.
Social media videos appeared to show multiple houses and other structures on fire in Faulder, west of Summerland, where residents posted that chunks of ash were falling.
Erick Thompson with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen's emergency operations centre said the fire was first detected at 5:30 p.m. Friday, but grew to 50 square kilometres in about three hours.
He said the fire posed an immediate threat and those in the evacuation zone from Summerland north towards Peachland needed to get out in the face of one of the "quickest-moving, fastest-growing" fires the area had seen.
Thompson said in a video briefing that the fire was showing aggressive rank-five behaviour, meaning that it had a fast-moving flame front with "long-range spotting," potentially starting new fires.
The regional district said residents should evacuate immediately if they were threatened by the Bald Range fire, which posed a "significant risk to life."
The evacuations come about a week after the Bradley Creek fire to the north destroyed about 230 homes on the Okanagan Indian Band reserve and forced thousands to flee.
B.C. Premier David Eby said on social media that his thoughts were with the people of Summerland and firefighters.
The BC Wildfire Service said the fire originated about 15 kilometres west of Summerland, and its cause was under investigation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026.
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