Canada’s British Columbia expands evacuation order as wildfire grows

Authorities in the Canadian province of British Columbia expanded an evacuation order Monday for a wildfire burning on the west side of Okanagan Lake, according to an update from Central Okanagan Emergency Management (COEM).

The order includes the Caesars Landing area, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of the city of Kelowna, where the Quilpituk Creek wildfire has grown to 550 hectares (1,359 acres) since it was discovered Saturday, COEM said.

The update said 2,223 properties are now under an evacuation order, and another 425 are under alert in the area.

"Fire and weather conditions will be monitored to determine if additional evacuation orders or alerts are required – while not expected, it is possible," it said, adding that neither the orders nor the alerts are expected to be lifted Monday.

Crews from the BC Wildfire Service and local fire departments are using aerial resources, heavy equipment and structure protection teams while building hoselays and clearing hazardous trees along the fire's perimeter, according to the update.

The Quilpituk Creek fire is one of several that triggered mass evacuations across the province over the weekend, with public broadcaster CBC reporting that more than 5,000 people were forced from their homes amid explosive fire growth driven by strong winds.

The report said that thousands more residents were evacuated from the Okanagan Indian Band's main reserve, Spallumcheen, and the Splatsin First Nation further north due to the separate, larger Bradley Creek fire, which doubled in size over the weekend before growth slowed by Monday.

Meanwhile, the BC Wildfire Service's online dashboard showed 127 active wildfires across the province, with 10 new fires reported in the last 24 hours. Another 15 fires were declared out in the same period, while 98 have been declared out over the past week, according to the dashboard.