A wildfire in British Columbia forced more than 20,000 people from their homes. The fire moved so quickly that crews had to abandon firefighting to help residents escape. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The Bald Range wildfire erupted Friday near Summerland, a community of about 12,000 in British Columbia's Okanagan region. By Wednesday, it had grown to about 184 square kilometers (71 square miles) after destroying homes and killing an 80-year-old woman.
Premier David Eby said: "There's an important set of lessons for us to take about how quickly this moved and that this may be our new normal for fire speed." He said the blaze outpaced wildfire modeling and left some residents with little time to evacuate.
Officials have begun damage assessments, but the area remained unsafe Wednesday and there was no timeline for residents to return. Crews were clearing vegetation to help slow the fire's spread. Highway 97, a major route through the area, remained closed.
Eby visited an evacuation reception center in Penticton, where he said he met people devastated by the loss of their homes. "A lot of emotions in there, obviously," he told reporters.