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A wildfire that started in the US state of Washington crossed the border into the Canadian province of British Columbia. Authorities in Osoyoos, a small town on the Canadian side, issued evacuation orders as the fire spread rapidly.
The fire started near the town of Oroville in Washington’s Okanogan County. On the night of July 29, 2023, it crossed the 49th Parallel that makes up much of the US-Canada border.
In response, the Town of Osyoos and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) issued evacuation orders at 11.30 pm on July 29 night:
BC EMERGENCY ALERT issued by Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and Town of Osoyoos due to the Lone Pine Creek wildfire. Evacuation Order area: Town of Osoyoos and the RDOS, bounded by West of Highway 97, South of Highway 3 and East of Nighthawk Rd, north of the USA border. The Lone Pine Creek wildfire poses a threat to life safety.
The area witnessed apocalyptic scenes as the town shone amber due to the raging fire.
The wildfire, initially named ‘Lone Pine Creek’, was eventually renamed ‘Eagle Bluff’ which is now being used for it on both sides of the border.
“The wildfire is approximately 4 kilometres (2.49 miles) from Osoyoos and is currently estimated to be 885 hectares (2,200 acres) in size on the Canadian side of the border, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service. It was estimated to be around 2,000 hectares in size on the U.S. side by the BC Wildfire Service,” the news agency Reuters said.
The state of emergency in Osoyoos will last till August 5, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Jesse Winter, a photojournalist who captured the fire on July 29 night in all its ferocity wrote on his Twitter handle on the morning of July 30 (Pacific Time):
Image shared by NASA on July 12, 2023, showing wildfires over British Columbia and Alberta
British Columbia as well as other parts of Canada are reeling from drought, which has caused several wildfires in the country this July. The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration noted on July 12:
In July 2023, a combination of unusual heat, dry lightning, and drought fueled major outbreaks of fire in Canada. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC), nearly 600 out-of-control fires burned throughout the country on July 13, with about half of these raging in British Columbia or Alberta.
The last time the Pacific seaboard of North America was in the news for wildfires was two years ago when the town of Lytton in British Columbia burned down amid similar, apocalyptic scenes. The fires in the 2021 season had been blamed on a heat dome on the Pacific Northwest.