About 230 homes destroyed in Bradley Creek wildfire, chief says

About 230 homes have been destroyed by the Bradley Creek wildfire near the north end of Okanagan Lake, according to Okanagan Indian Band Chief Dan Wilson.

Wilson said about 30 homes belonging to band members and 200 non-band homes burned after the fire began late Friday and was driven by winds gusting up to 115 kilometres an hour. Some members had only about five minutes to evacuate, he said.

The band’s powwow arbour, daycare and new Cultural Immersion School were saved after aircraft saturated the area with water, Wilson said. Residents Louis and Shorty Fred said they narrowly escaped as flames and downed power lines surrounded their route out; their home was lost.

Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said about 8,000 people had been displaced across B.C. and 37 evacuation orders were in force Tuesday. The Regional District of North Okanagan expanded its Bradley Creek evacuation order by more than 40 properties because the fire blocked some escape routes.

BC Wildfire Service said there were about 120 active fires in the province, roughly 50 of them out of control. It expects activity to increase as hot and dry conditions return, while crews work to build control lines around the Bradley Creek fire.