Strong winds fanned the flames of a wildfire in B.C.’s north Okanagan, forcing additional evacuations as crews struggled to battle a blaze which officials confirmed has destroyed some structures. The Bradley Creek wildfire is estimated at over 26 square kilometres as of Sunday after a period of rapid growth fueled by gusts of between 70 km/h on the ground and 115 km/h at elevation, according to officials. “These winds caused significant challenges and the firefighters, helicopters, airtankers and skimmers were unable to hold the fire,” an online update from the B.C. Wildfire Service said. Provincial officials, at a news conference, said structures have been lost within the evacuation zone but that a full assessment of the destruction will not be possible until conditions improve. Evacuees describe fast-moving fire Kate Erickson, whose 160-acre property is in the evacuation zone, said when the wind whipped up her family scrambled to get their animals loaded into vehicles. “They’ve got the cat, the dogs, and the horses and a change of underwear, maybe,” she said. “It breaks my heart.” Some evacuees were being directed to a reception centre at Kal Tire Place in Vernon. One woman who fled there with her husband and their dogs described how tense things were before the order came down. “It was very scary. It was the whole day of seeing the fire,” she said. “Everything was orange.” Although she and her husband were not completely caught off guard by the evacuation order, she described the panic that set in when it was issued. “It was just running, running, running because you’re never totally prepared, you think you have everything but you don’t,” she said. The fire crossed Highway 97, resulting in its closure in both directions between Salmon River Road and Old Kamloops Road. However, it did not cross Okanagan Lake. The Bradley Creek blaze exploded as dozens more were sparked over the past 24 hours during what the BCWS described as a “dynamic weather event.” In addition to the fierce and “erratic” winds, there were more than 2,200 lightning strikes recorded—igniting tinder-dry fuel sources.
