VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A wildfire that erupted with terrifying speed in the Okanagan region has forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 people, destroyed homes, and left crews scrambling to rescue trapped residents. British Columbia Premier David Eby declared a provincial state of emergency on Saturday as the Bald Range fire, first reported Friday evening, exploded to 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) in a matter of hours.

The blaze tore through the small community of Faulder and raced roughly 15 kilometers (9 miles) to Summerland, a town of about 12,000 people, which received an overnight evacuation order. Another 8,000 residents in and around Peachland were also told to leave. Officials have not yet determined the number of homes lost, but social media videos showed multiple structures engulfed in flames as families fled along roads lined with fire on both sides.

“I know many families are facing an unimaginable day today,” Eby said. “People have lost their homes. And many people have been displaced. Others are waiting for news about loved ones.”

The premier confirmed that some residents became trapped and required rescue. Search-and-rescue teams are continuing to look behind the fire lines for anyone who may have been caught. Cliff Chapman, director of wildfire operations for the BC Wildfire Service, said firefighting helicopters had to be diverted from suppressing flames to pulling people out of danger zones. “Without the cooperation of multiple agencies, the outcome would have been significantly worse,” Chapman noted.

He described the overall fire conditions across British Columbia as “explosive,” warning that other communities could face similar threats. The province is battling more than 100 wildfires, nearly half of which are out of control amid hot, windy weather and a prolonged drought.

Erick Thompson, an emergency official with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, called the Bald Range fire one of the “quickest-moving, fastest-growing” the region has ever experienced. Thompson himself had to abandon the emergency operations center to evacuate his own family. “I had to leave the EOC to come and get my family to leave this area. We’re heading south,” he said in a video posted early Saturday, traffic backed up around him.

Homeowner Kerry Gold and her husband, Mike Elsinga, fled around 12:30 a.m. after watching flames spread beyond nearby mountains. “It’s scary. It’s moving fast,” Gold said. The couple, recent transplants from Vancouver, had packed bags, prepared a carrier for their cat, and planned to help a disabled friend escape. “You want to stay here and protect your home, but you also don’t want to get caught in it,” Elsinga added.

British Columbia Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene stated that the state of emergency gives the province additional powers, including the ability to restrict travel and secure accommodations for evacuees that might otherwise be unavailable.

Canada has endured increasingly destructive wildfire seasons in recent years, forcing mass evacuations and repeatedly sending smoke across large parts of Canada and the United States. The current crisis underscores the growing challenges posed by climate change, which scientists say has created conditions conducive to extreme fire behavior.