British Columbia Fires

Update 8/10 | Summary
Posting Date: August 10, 2026, 12:00:00 PM

Wildfires exploded across British Columbia's southern interior over the past week, driven by hot, dry weather and prolonged drought that fueled more than 100 fires burning province-wide, with nearly half of them out of control. The most destructive has been the Bald Range wildfire near Okanagan Lake, which first ignited Friday evening and grew roughly 9 miles toward Okanagan Lake within hours, eventually burning over 95 square kilometers by Saturday morning, doubling in size overnight. Premier David Eby described the fire's growth as "a remarkable escalation in fire activity," noting the blaze became so intense it generated its own weather system and lightning, while the BC Wildfire Service's operations director called the conditions "explosive" and warned other communities could face similarly fast-moving fires. British Columbia declared a provincial state of emergency on Saturday as the fire forced evacuation orders across Summerland, Peachland, and other districts west of Okanagan Lake — a region that produces most of B.C.'s wine and is Canada's second-largest wine-producing area.

Overall, more than 20,000 people have fled their homes, including roughly 12,000 residents of Summerland and about 8,000 more in and around Peachland, with over 2,600 properties under evacuation order and another 312 on evacuation alert due to the separate Quilpituk Creek fire alone. Structural losses have been significant, though full assessments are still pending: officials confirmed "significant structure loss" from the Bald Range fire but said they could not yet assess the full damage since the area remains an active fire zone, while preliminary estimates from the Okanagan Indian Band suggest at least 230 properties were destroyed in the separate Bradley Creek wildfire further north. The crisis has also disrupted basic services — Summerland lost power and issued a boil-water notice after untreated water bypassed its treatment plant during the fire — and strained firefighting resources, with about 1,500 personnel battling the more than 100 active fires, aided by firefighters from Mexico, Australia, France and New Zealand.

The Verisk ALERT team is closely monitoring the wildfires in British Columbia and will provide updates as warranted in the coming days.

Update 8/10 | Downloads
Posting Date: August 10, 2026, 12:00:00 PM