Wildfires continued to burn across the western United States and Canada on Sunday, leaving many residents anxiously watching for evacuation orders while others who had already escaped their homes waited to learn what damage they might face when they return.

In western Canada, a rapidly spreading wildfire forced more than 20,000 people from communities along British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake over the weekend, destroying homes and requiring dozens of residents to be rescued by aircraft. Meanwhile, in Washington state, firefighters battling three blazes in the Spokane region for more than a week continued cleanup efforts around containment lines.

Laurie Allen fled her Nine Mile Falls home, north of Spokane, last weekend with her husband, dog and two kittens as flames burned nearby. Although roads leading into her neighborhood remained closed Sunday, she said a friend had told her that her ash-covered home, along with others nearby, was still standing.

“I’ve been here 65 years. It’s never happened,” Allen said. “We didn’t think about anything but grabbing our animals and leaving. But now it’s affected so many of our friends and family around. So it’s pretty dang devastating.”

More Than 20,000 Forced From Canadian Communities

In Canada, Anette Boulet was among those who evacuated Summerland, a community of roughly 12,000 residents along Okanagan Lake. When she and her family fled at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, thick smoke had engulfed the area.

“You couldn’t see barely. It was, it was just dark, and the ridge, the ridge of fire just coming towards you,” said Boulet, who evacuated to a center in Penticton.

“There’s no words to express it,” she said. “The fear.”

The Bald Range fire, which was first reported Friday evening, prompted evacuations not only in Summerland but also for roughly 8,000 people in and around nearby Peachland. British Columbia declared a state of emergency on Saturday.

Eleanor Olszewski, Canada’s minister of emergency management and community resilience, said Sunday on social media that she had authorized federal assistance requested by British Columbia to help provide shelter and accommodations for evacuees.

Spokane-Area Wildfires Keep Communities on Alert

Fire crews battling three major wildfires in the Spokane area continued “mop-up operations” near containment lines Sunday, according to the team overseeing the response. None of the fires were expanding, but the blazes that have burned over the past week have damaged or destroyed about 920 structures.

Earlier in the week, authorities arrested and charged a man with allegedly deliberately starting the largest of the three Spokane-area fires.

Residents of the small rural town of Malden, about 35 miles south of Spokane, were ordered to evacuate immediately on Saturday. By Sunday, officials had lowered the warning level, advising residents to remain prepared to leave quickly if conditions changed.

“The wind is fairly calm. The fire is not progressing,” said John Goyke, whose company operates Malden’s water under contract, “but we’re using social media and Facebook to keep in contact with everyone.”

Goyke, who also serves as mayor of nearby Rosalia, said Malden residents were asked to conserve water so supplies would be available for firefighting if needed. Malden’s fire department has also been receiving trucked-in water from Rosalia.

Malden was largely destroyed by a wildfire in 2020, which wiped out the town’s fire station, post office, city hall and library.

Two Pilots Killed in Utah Firefighting Helicopter Crash

In Utah, two helicopter pilots died after their aircraft crashed Friday morning while battling a wildfire in Fishlake National Forest. Rescue crews were not able to reach the crash site until Saturday, when they confirmed both deaths.

Officials said intense fire activity, combined with steep and rugged terrain, delayed efforts to reach the area.

“When we first got there we could see two different plumes of smoke, one from the crash site, one from an active fire coming towards us,” Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused the helicopter crash.