The Bald Range fire, which is burning “out of control” in British Columbia, Canada, prompted an evacuation order of more than 18,000 people in two communities as the blaze rapidly spread, the authorities said.
The fire has scorched more than 25,000 acres as flames have edged closer to the Districts of Summerland and Peachland, officials said.
Officials said the fire exploded in a way that they had never seen before, prompting overnight evacuations and the deployment of resources to battle yet another conflagration as more than 100 wildfires burn in the province.
The Bald Range fire was “like a bomb going off in the Summerland region,” said David Eby, British Columbia’s premier, at a news conference on Saturday. The fire started on Friday around 5:30 p.m. local time, officials said. The cause is unknown.
Flames climbed 200 feet and the fire created its own weather system, leading to lightning, Mr. Eby said. At one point, it spread more than 2,000 acres in about an hour, he said.
“Conditions are extremely dangerous, and changing minute by minute,” Mr. Eby said. “The fires are moving incredibly quickly.”
He said the extent of any damage to structures was so far unknown. It was unclear if anyone had been injured.
The fire knocked out power in Summerland, which is about 260 miles east of Vancouver, officials said.
A state of emergency for British Columbia was declared as 105 active wildfires burn, officials said. More than 2,000 firefighters and “structure protection resources” have been dispatched, officials said.
Jonathan Giroux was home for about an hour after a day of hauling feed and livestock in the district, a largely rural area, when an alert buzzed his phone on Friday evening: Leave now.
Mr. Giroux, 50, owns Garnett Valley Farms, his family’s hog and poultry operation in the agricultural end of Summerland.
He recalled fire officials and emergency responders going door-to-door to tell residents to evacuate. Neighbors with horses loaded them into trailers as they fled their homes.
But there was no way for him to move his animals, among them 130 hogs, 1,500 hens, some horses and other animals, he said. By midnight, the smoke had thickened enough to drive the family out.
“It wasn’t so much the fire that was the risk. It was the smoke inhalation,” Mr. Giroux said. “It became very difficult to breathe.”
The District of Peachland, about 235 miles northeast of Vancouver, is known for its waterfront boardwalk along Okanagan Lake. Bottleneck Drive, a scenic network of rural roads connecting about 20 wineries, breweries and distilleries, is a well-known regional attraction in the District of Summerland.
Erick Thompson, a spokesman for the regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen’s Emergency Operations Center, said that anyone living in the District of Summerland, or other areas under the evacuation order, should leave their homes.
He called it “the most important thing you can do” in a video posted online of him leaving his home.
“If this fire is near where you are, get what you need, make sure your family is safe, but you need to leave immediately,” he said.
Local resources to accommodate displaced residents have been strained, said Kevin Dunbar, the executive director of emergency response and recovery operations for British Columbia. He implored evacuees to stay with family and friends.
Before escaping, Mr. Giroux and his family spent a few hours preparing the farm. They dumped 12,000 pounds of peaches into the hog pens, set out enough feed to keep the hens going for days and made sure the horses had fresh water.
A video he posted online shows glowing flames and smoke engulfing the valley. Officials have since told him that, for now, the farm and the animals have been spared.
Mr. Giroux said he is waiting for clearance to return.
“There have been some small-scale forest fires over the last couple of years,” he said, “but nothing to this degree.”
Officials on Saturday emphasized that challenging days lie ahead.
“The conditions are clearly extremely volatile,” said Kelly Greene, the minister of emergency management and climate readiness. “We are expecting additional declining weather conditions.”
