B.C. declares state of emergency after wildfire expands as thousands evacuated

British Columbia Premier David Eby says the province has declared a state of emergency after a ferocious wildfire forced 20,000 people out of two communities along Okanagan Lake.

The fast-moving fire that pushed people out of Summerland and Peachland is just one of several wildfires that has threatened communities and destroyed homes in the province this summer.

Of the more than 100 wildfires burning in the province, almost half of them are out of control, fuelled by hot and windy weather and long-standing drought conditions.

Eby says some people became trapped by the fire and needed to be rescued, and search and rescue efforts continue behind the fire lines for anyone else who may have been caught.