An estimated 30,000 people found themselves exiled from their homes in Kelowna, British Columbia, today by a wildfire so hot that at times it caused houses to explode.
Nearly a third of this western Canadian vacation city's residents have evacuated because of the Okanagan Mountain fire, and thousands more remained on high alert in case the flames reached further into residential areas.
Emergency officials ordered 20,000 people to flee with only a few minutes warning on yesterday evening as the forest fire began to "crown" - or move rapidly from tree top to tree top.
Similar conditions forced 10,000 to evacuate late on Thursday.
Witnesses reported seeing entire suburban subdivision on fire in the city's southern outskirts late last night as the flames leaped from building to building, some of which could be seen exploding from the intense heat.
Officials were not expected to have a preliminary estimate on the number of homes lost until later today. No deaths or major injuries had been reported despite two consecutive nights of frantic evacuations.
British Columbia, suffering its worst forest fire season in decades, has been under a state of emergency since the beginning of August. Some areas in the southern half of the province have seen little or no rain in weeks.