Canadian federal government announced it will provide urgent assistance to British Columbia after wildfires forced about 22,000 people to evacuate and killed one person. The province reported 102 wildfires on Sunday, with nearly half classified as out of control and 78 ignited in the previous week. The community of Summerland, home to about 12,000 residents, was evacuated overnight, along with about 8,000 people in the Peachland area. Authorities told roughly 10,000 others to prepare for possible evacuation. Resident Anette Boulet described leaving at 4:30 a.m. as smoke obscured visibility. Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience Eleanor Olszewski said she approved a request for federal assistance to provide shelter and accommodations and tasked Public Safety Canada operations centre to coordinate support. Premier David Eby declared a state of emergency. BC Wildfire Service director Cliff Chapman said prolonged hot and dry weather created severe fire conditions and forecast lightning could worsen the situation. The Bald Range fire, first detected Friday night, expanded to more than 40 square miles within hours and approached Okanagan Lake. Emergency response included ten standard helicopters and one night‑vision helicopter. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported the death of an 80‑year‑old woman attempting to flee the Okanagan Lake region. Professor Mike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University said the rapid spread reflects increasingly extreme fires linked to human‑caused climate change. He noted that the region has experienced little rain for six weeks, leaving vegetation bone dry, and that fire behavior now extends into night hours, requiring night‑vision operations. He warned that fire seasons may extend into autumn and that homes in high‑risk areas should have emergency kits ready. Similar wildfire activity in Washington state, where crews have contained three fires that together damaged or destroyed about 920 structures, led to the arrest and charging of a man for intentionally setting the largest fire.