Hamburgers, water and support waiting for B.C. fire evacuees

With thousands forced from their homes due to fires around Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, the Salvation Army in Vernon has become a place for people to gather as they figure out what’s next.

Charity spokesman Ron Cartmell says since it opened Friday to offer emergency support services, local businesses have stopped by with help ranging from pallets of bottled water to hamburgers and coffee.

He says the community is doing what it can to ease some of the pain and the trauma evacuees are experiencing.

Cartmell says he has spoken to people who are on their third wildfire evacuation from wildfires in the last seven years.

Winds, as high as 115 kilometres an hour in some spots, caused fires to spread rapidly over the weekend across a region dealing with a prolonged drought.

As of late Monday, there were about 120 fires burning across B.C., with about 50 classified as out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2026.