Wildfires

Premier David Eby is scheduled to hold a media availability Wednesday afternoon in Penticton with local officials as wildfire response efforts remain active across the Okanagan.

The Bald Range wildfire has grown to 18,450 hectares as crews work to strengthen containment lines and prepare for thunderstorms that could increase fire activity, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Frustration is growing among Summerland evacuees who want to know when they can return home, but emergency officials said Tuesday the volatility of the Bald Range wildfire makes it impossible to give them a firm timeline.

Wildfire officials said crews are working around the clock at the Bald Range wildfire near Summerland to try to control the blaze and allow people to safely return home.

The chief of the Penticton Indian Band is urging the provincial and federal governments to prioritize wildfire preparedness to help protect communities across B.C., including those in the Okanagan threatened by increasingly large fires.

Some residents displaced by the Bald Range wildfire are being granted temporary access to Summerland for critical purposes as emergency officials plan for a staged return to the community.

The fight against the 15,590-hectare Bald Range wildfire is a “monumental task,” BC Wildfire Service incident commander Hugh Murdoch said during a Monday night emergency briefing, with crews facing a vast fireground and active fire behaviour around Summerland.

Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes is warning evacuated residents to brace themselves for what they may find when they return home, saying the community already knows people who have lost homes.

Defence Minister David McGuinty said Canada’s military is “on standby” to assist with British Columbia’s wildfire response if needed.

British Columbia is banning recreational off-road vehicles on Crown land in parts of the province to reduce the risk of wildfires.