$250K wildfire clean-up bill lands Lake Okanagan Resort in court

A demolition company that cleaned up the ruins of Lake Okanagan Resort says it finished the job more than a year ago, but roughly $250,000 of the bill has not been paid.

That’s according to a BC Supreme Court file in which the Edmonton-based company claims it was contracted by the resort to clean up the damage from the 2023 McDougall Creek wildfire. The resort was destroyed in the fire.

McColman and Sons Demolition Ltd says it signed the contract in May 2024 to clear out wildfire damage on both resort- and Crown-owned properties. The company demolished what was left of the burnt-out properties and removed the rubble, according to its notice of civil claim.

Roughly 150 units were destroyed including some timeshare properties, by some estimates, 2,000 timeshare owners were impacted.

It’s not clear when the demolition company finished the work, but it placed a $357,402 builders lien against the property in August 2025. The resort appears to have paid some of it because there is now $248,976 left owing, according to court documents.

The holding company that owns Lake Okanagan Resort has since been in a court battle with its insurance company over the fire damage, but its financial woes did not begin with the fire. Recent efforts to revitalize the resort were stifled before the fire and it was fined thousands of dollars for sewage violations that dated back nearly ten years.

Now three years after the fire and at least one year after the property was cleaned up, the demolition company is looking to BC Supreme Court to order the resort pay the rest of the bill.

Lake Okanagan Resort, which is owned by a Richmond-based holding company, has not responded in court, nor to requests for comment. This story details claims and allegations that have not been proven in court.