Residents of more than 50 homes in the Peachland area have been allowed to return home after they were hurried out overnight due to a wildfire.
Central Okanagan Emergency Operations issued a statement at 12:49 a.m. saying tactical evacuations were underway for properties at the south end of the city.
An update at 3:22 a.m. says residents of 58 properties had been allowed to return home, though they must stay ready to leave on short notice.
Crews fight out-of-control Sailor Bar wildfire near Yale
The emergency agency says the wildfire has affected power lines in the area, with the BC Hydro website showing an outage affecting nearly 680 customers.
The BC Wildfire Service website shows a 1.4-hectare blaze discovered yesterday near the properties that remain under evacuation alert is classified as “being held,” meaning it’s not expected to grow beyond its current perimeter.
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The number of wildfires across B.C. has been holding steady at just under 70, despite an ongoing dry spell and heat wave gripping much of the province.
Heat warnings remain in effect for the Fraser Canyon, the southern Thompson and Okanagan regions and inland sections of the north and central coasts.
Environment Canada says a gradual cooling trend is expected at the end of the week.
Daily maximum temperature records have been tumbling across B.C. for the last several days, including in Lytton, which on Tuesday matched the previous day’s high of 41.3 C, marking the hottest temperature recorded across Canada so far this year.
Closely watching wildfire situation in B.C. as weather heats up
Another 28 communities set daily records for Aug. 26.
In Vernon, the mercury hit 37.2 C, eclipsing the previous high of 32.8 C set in 1916.
It was 31 C in the northern community of Fort Nelson, where the previous record of 30 C was set in 1950.
In Metro Vancouver, the regional district says the hot, sunny conditions have combined with local emissions to produce smog, prompting an air-quality warning.
The warning about elevated levels of ground-level ozone spans central and eastern parts of the Fraser Valley. It follows an earlier smoke and smoke warning issued by the district last weekend.
Communities that broke daily records also include Chetwynd, Dawson, Fort St. John, Clearwater, Merritt, Quesnel, Sparwood, Gibsons and Qualicum Beach.
In 2021, Lytton set the record for Canada’s hottest temperature of 49.6 C. The next day, a wildfire destroyed most of the village.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
