Bald Range wildfire grows to nearly 20,000 hectares as evacuation orders ease in Summerland

The Bald Range wildfire has swollen to 19,891 hectares as firefighters made progress protecting structures near Summerland but faced a tougher fight in the surrounding forest.

On August 15, the District of Summerland downgraded evacuation orders for the Trout Creek neighbourhood (east of Highway 97), Peachland, and Electoral Area West to evacuation alerts, allowing residents limited access to check on their properties. The rest of Summerland remains under evacuation order.

Hugh Murdoch, the BC Wildfire Service incident commander, said crews had achieved "really good success" containing the fire perimeter closest to town. But he warned the fight is far from over. "There's still a portion of it, especially in the northwest, where the fire is spreading out into more traditional wildland forest topography," Murdoch said. "There's going to be a good firefight out in that area."

Overnight operations focused on the Shingle Creek Road area, where crews conducted "hand ignitions" — controlled burns designed to slow the main fire's spread. More than 100 personnel continued structure protection and hotspot work across the region, supported by 15 helicopters and close to 60 pieces of heavy equipment.

"We'll be here for the foreseeable future," Murdoch said. "We might not be front and centre visible, because we'll be in the forested areas, but you'll be seeing the helicopters and planes and note that crews will still be working in these areas moving forward."