Wildfire destroys about 230 homes in western Canada

A fast-moving wildfire has destroyed about 230 homes in an Indigenous community in Canada's western province of British Columbia, making it one of the country's most destructive fires in recent years.

The Bradley Creek wildfire swept through the Okanagan Indian Band reserve near the city of Vernon, around 440km (275 miles) north-east of Vancouver, after erupting late on Friday (July 31), Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

 Strong wind gusts of up to 115km/h (71mph) fuelled the blaze, allowing it to spread rapidly.

Chief Dan Wilson of the Okanagan Indian Band described the devastation as one of the darkest moments in the community's history after surveying the area by helicopter.

"It was hard to recognise my community from the air with all the structures and the forest gone," he said, adding that some residents had only five minutes to evacuate as the flames advanced.

The destruction places the Bradley Creek wildfire among Canada's most severe recent wildfire disasters. A blaze in Jasper, Alberta, destroyed about 350 homes in 2024, while the McDougall Creek wildfire in British Columbia's Okanagan region destroyed around 200 homes in 2023.

Despite the extensive damage, aerial firefighting crews managed to protect key infrastructure, including a daycare centre and a newly built school, by carrying out repeated water drops.

Residents described fleeing with little warning as flames approached their homes.

"I've been living here all my life, and I've really never seen anything like this," resident Louis Fred said. "Even 2021 was bad. It was huge. But the wind wasn't anything like this one."

Provincial officials said around 8,000 people have been evacuated across British Columbia. Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said there were 37 active evacuation orders, with conditions changing by the hour.

The BC Wildfire Service said approximately 120 wildfires were burning across the province on Tuesday, with around 50 of them classified as out of control. Significant fires were also burning near the communities of Boston Bar, Clinton and Kimberley.

Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed support for those affected, saying his thoughts were with everyone whose lives had been disrupted by the wildfires, particularly those forced to evacuate because of the Bradley Creek blaze.

Canada has experienced increasingly severe wildfire seasons in recent years, with large blazes destroying communities and sending smoke across much of North America, prompting widespread air-quality warnings.

By Aghakazim Guliyev