Returning home different for everyone after ‘monster’ wildfire in B.C.’s Okanagan

A staged re-entry is unfolding for residents of Summerland, B.C., while the wildfire that forced them out as it exploded on the night of Aug. 7 continues to burn out of control away from the community.

Erick Thompson with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen said Wednesday that returning is different for everyone, especially as some people don’t have houses to go back to.

The Bald Range fire has destroyed about 150 structures, with about 110 in the communities of Faulder and Meadow Valley, and 40 in the District of Summerland.

Thompson said he toured parts of the area scorched by the fire this week and saw “serious damage” in rural areas outside Summerland.

“It was challenging to see in the sense that you can get a good sense of how frightening it must have been for those people who were there.”

In Summerland, Thompson said residents, including himself, were returning to the stench of wildfire smoke, “a lot of dust and ash” and potentially rotting food in their fridges following the rapid evacuation of the community as the fire bore down.

He said it was sobering and sad to see homes destroyed, and there was nothing he could say to make those residents feel better.

But Thompson also saw how hard firefighters and structural protection crews worked to protect neighbourhoods in Summerland, he said.

“The fire came down the hill and reached the backyards of houses and those houses were saved,” he said in an interview.

Still, he said the fire was a “monster,” tearing through the area within hours of its discovery and forcing firefighters to pivot from attacking it to helping people flee.

More than 4,500 properties in Summerland were taken off the evacuation list this week, allowing residents to return, although they remain on evacuation alert.

Others are still waiting as crews assess ongoing risks and work on repairing power infrastructure.

Thompson said he saw burned hydro poles and “danger trees” that must be felled before it’s deemed safe for some people to return.

Geotechnical assessment of slopes scorched by the fire was ongoing, he added.

The Bald Range fire spanned about 227 square kilometres on Wednesday.

The eastern flank of the fire facing Summerland has calmed enough to allow some residents to return, but an update from the BC Wildfire Service said it remained active in other areas, throwing sparks 30 metres beyond its main perimeter.

The service said crews were working along the Princeton-Summerland Road corridor to the west of the community and along the fire’s southwestern flank.

It said the forecast called for high temperatures and shifting winds, while challenging terrain was also hindering suppression efforts.

The blaze has been growing by an average of about eight square kilometres per day, the service said.

“The area has received 1.8 millimetres of rain over the past 47 days, and fuels remain exceptionally dry,” it said.

People in the area could expect to see smouldering ground fire and smoke from within the fire’s perimeter over the coming weeks, the service said.

“This is common following large wildfires and is typically not a concern,” it said.

The Bald Range fire is one of about 130 active blazes across B.C., mostly in southern parts of the province, with roughly a third burning out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.