Peachland, B.C., wildfire being held, all evacuation orders lifted

From July 31: Four hundred families were ordered to evacuate Wednesday night, but more than half have been given the green light to return.

The wildfire that forced hundreds to evacuate in Peachland, B.C., earlier this week is no longer considered out of control, and all evacuation orders have been lifted.

The B.C. Wildfire Service updated its classification of the Drought Hill wildfire to “being held” on Friday. The designation means the blaze is “projected, based on fuel and weather conditions and resource availability, to remain within the current perimeter, control line or boundary.”

• Related: Full coverage of B.C.’s 2025 wildfire season

On Wednesday, police and fire crews went door-to-door to rush residents out of 400 properties threatened by the fast-moving wildfire.

The Central Okanagan Regional District activated its emergency operations centre and issued evacuation orders and alerts for hundreds of properties.

Many residents were allowed to return home on Thursday, and the regional district lifted the evacuation order for the final 118 properties to which it applied on Friday.

Those properties remain subject to an evacuation alert, but the rest of the evacuation alerts related to the fire have been lifted, the regional district said.

Firefighters remain on scene working to mop up the blaze, according to the CORD. The BCWS said it had 11 firefighters assisting municipal fire crews Friday, along with structure protection and aviation resources.

The blaze is estimated to be burning an area of 57 hectares between highways 97 and 97C near the Peachland-West Kelowna border.

The positive outcome in the Okanagan comes as the number of active wildfires in British Columbia continues to spike. High temperatures and lightning strikes this week have left roughly 120 blazes burning around the province.

The BCWS says that half of the fires have started since late Wednesday, as lightning storms swept across the province.

With files from The Canadian Press