A wildfire in British Columbia's Okanagan region has forced thousands to flee their homes, with officials still assessing how many properties have been destroyed. The Bald Range Fire broke out on Friday and rapidly expanded to 53 square miles within hours, leaving evacuees uncertain whether their homes have survived, while an 80-year-old woman died while trying to escape the blaze.

More than 12,000 residents remain under evacuation orders, and the fire is one of over 100 currently burning across British Columbia, 70 of which started in just the past week. Premier David Eby has declared a provincial state of emergency, warning that the fires are spreading "incredibly quickly" amid severe drought conditions that have left Okanagan Lake at its lowest level since 1992. The blaze follows another nearby fire, Bradley Creek, believed to have destroyed more than 200 homes, while similar drought-driven wildfires have also displaced over 65,000 people in neighbouring Washington state and caused devastation in Spain and France this summer.