Wildfires in Canada: thousands evacuated
Residents of British Columbia, Canada, have been forced to leave their homes due to mass evacuations caused by wildfires. Many have to relocate livestock and rebuild their homes without insurance. When fire takes not only homes but also livelihoods, and insurance is out of reach for most, the scale of the disaster can no longer be measured in hectares of burned forest alone.
In Canada's British Columbia province, fire is destroying not only trees but also people's lives, leaving them alone with the ashes, with no way to compensate for their losses. And while firefighting aircraft circle over the mountains and evacuation centres are overflowing, tens of thousands of people are wondering: how do you start over when you don't even have an insurance policy?
On 8 August, the province declared a state of emergency as numerous wildfires intensified, with the Bald Range fire west of Summerland being the most severe. The blaze was first reported on 7 August and spread rapidly within hours, blocking highways and triggering the largest evacuation in recent years. Visibility in the mountains remains low in fire affected areas, many road sections are closed and surrounding communities are on evacuation alert. Numerous firefighting aircraft are circling the area.
In the Penticton evacuation centre, more than 12,000 people are inside or nearby. An evacuee with goats was spotted near the centre. The goat owner said agriculture and livestock farming are the mainstay of the Okanagan Valley economy, and many livestock farmers are struggling to relocate their animals during the evacuation. "All the areas that burned in Folder and all the farmland were packed with horses and other animals. So, 12,000 people with their horses and everything suddenly arrived in town and filled every available stable. In the end, I have to go to the city park, grab a blanket and pillow and sleep with them there; they just lie around me, and I protect them that way," said Gregory, an evacuee.
According to a British Columbia agriculture ministry official, 269 registered farms in the province are currently threatened by wildfires, with about 50,000 head of livestock affected. British Columbia Premier David Eby said the wildfire spread extremely fast, tens of thousands of people were evacuated in a short period, and all livelihood support services were overwhelmed. The provincial government has streamlined its entire workflow, including evacuation planning, material distribution and other links.
However, continuously optimised emergency procedures cannot immediately solve long standing livelihood issues. Another evacuee, Nicole Haddow, captured the evacuation on her phone. She said many people find it difficult to rebuild their lives because they do not have wildfire insurance. "You'd be surprised. I would say probably 80 per cent of people, including my mother, had no insurance. So they just lost literally everything in their lives," said Nicole.
British Columbia regularly suffers from wildfires during the summer months, but this season has been one of the most destructive in recent years. Climate change, drought and strong winds are contributing to the rapid spread of fire. The lack of insurance compounds the crisis: many residents, especially in rural areas, either could not afford policies or insurers refused to cover risks in high fire hazard zones.
The provincial government has promised financial aid to victims, but the amounts have yet to be determined. Environmentalists warn that such disasters will become more frequent and call for systemic solutions – from changing forest management practices to creating state run insurance programmes. For now, thousands of people remain in evacuation centres, unsure whether they will ever return to their homes or be able to rebuild what they have lost.
As CCTV+ reports, the wildfires in British Columbia have become yet another reminder that the climate crisis knows no borders, and vulnerability to disaster is magnified when systemic gaps – such as a lack of affordable insurance – leave people defenceless against the flames.
