A man paddles a paddleboard on Okanagan Lake, in Lake Country, B.C., as the Quilpituk Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside across the lake, near Fintry, on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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

Aug 4, 2026 | 1:00 AM

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.