Motorhome crash triggers Okanagan wildfire and evacuations, blaze now held

A motorhome collided with a tree and burst into flames along Highway 97 in British Columbia’s Okanagan region Tuesday night, sparking a wildfire that forced the evacuation of nearly 60 homes in Peachland, police said Wednesday.

It was a brief evacuation, with residents allowed to return home within a few hours.

RCMP said firefighters from Peachland, West Kelowna, Kelowna and the BC Wildfire Service stopped the fire from spreading further.

“Thanks to the quick response of the fire departments and the BC Wildfire Service, a potentially much larger incident was prevented,” Cpl. Devon Gerrits of the West Kelowna RCMP said in a statement.

Officers had responded to reports of a motorhome that veered off the highway south of Peachland at about 10:24 p.m. Tuesday, the statement said.

They said the driver, who was the only occupant, was able to escape the vehicle before it became fully engulfed in flames that spread to the nearby hillside.

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations issued a statement at 12:49 a.m. Wednesday saying tactical evacuations were underway for 58 properties, followed by an update at 3:22 a.m. saying residents were allowed to return home.

The properties remained on evacuation alert, with residents told they must stay ready to leave on short notice.

The emergency agency said the wildfire had affected power lines in the area, with the BC Hydro website showing an outage affecting nearly 680 customers.

A crew was on site working to restore power, which had been out since 11:02 p.m. Tuesday, the Crown utility’s website showed.

The BC Wildfire Service website showed a 1.4-hectare blaze discovered Tuesday near the properties that remained under evacuation alert was classified as “being held,” meaning it was not expected to grow beyond its current perimeter.

The Mounties said they were investigating the circumstances leading up to the motorhome leaving the highway.

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 remained in effect Wednesday for the Fraser Canyon, the south Thompson region and inland sections of the north and central coasts.

Environment Canada says the warnings will last until Thursday and possibly Friday in the coastal areas, while others will be in place until the end of the week.

Daily maximum temperature records have tumbled 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.

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.

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.

In Metro Vancouver, the regional district said the hot, sunny conditions combined with local emissions to produce smog, prompting an air-quality warning that was lifted Wednesday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press