British Columbia’s wildfire season has turned “brutal” after a delayed start, with a blaze that moved at a dizzying speed in the south Okanagan, offering lessons for protecting communities moving forward, Premier David Eby said Wednesday.
Eby said the “horrific” Bald Range wildfire outran modelling, forcing wildfire crews to pivot from fighting flames to helping some 20,000 residents flee.
The blaze may represent a “new normal” when it comes to the speed of wildfires, Eby told a briefing in Penticton, B.C., where many of the evacuees from the community of Summerland and surrounding areas have gathered.
Firefighters and police “had to go old school, knocking on doors” to tell residents to leave immediately as the fire bore down, Eby said, adding emergency crews had “put themselves in significant harm’s way to save lives.”
The premier said the province would undertake a review and apply lessons from the fire that exploded within a few hours of its detection on Aug. 7, with residents describing the scene as “apocalyptic” and “like doomsday.”
Thousands flee as fire expands
Eby said there would be conversations about how B.C. manages forests and about construction in the “interface” where wildlands meet communities.
“The themes include things like, should we be having discussions about requirements for new builds in interface areas to make sure that they’re more resilient to wildfire — sprinkler systems, exterior cladding, that kind of thing.”
Eby said the practice of preserving trees around communities while logging happens further away has also led to an unintended buildup of fuels, which are vulnerable to ignition as much of B.C. grapples with worsening drought.
“Certainly, we are going to see significant fires in summers to come, so each time we want to get better at what we do; saving lives, preserving structures and minimizing friction for people who need access to emergency response.”
An 80-year-old woman died suddenly while trying to escape her home west of Summerland, which Eby said was a “tragic loss.”
The premier had earlier visited a reception centre set up for evacuees, saying he saw people devastated by the loss of their homes.
“A lot of emotions in there, obviously,” he told reporters as he left the building ahead of the news conference.
Still, the premier said there was an overwhelming spirit of coming together to help those affected by the Bald Range fire.
Evacuees face uncertainty over homes
Officials told the briefing they could not yet shed light on the scope of the structural losses in the area, saying it was still an active fire zone.
The Bald Range fire spanned about 184 square kilometres on Wednesday, having grown by about 6.5 square kilometres overnight.
Hugh Murdoch with the BC Wildfire Service said hazards were “lingering” around the fire, including downed power lines and the potential for flames to flare again.
Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said she understood evacuees would be desperate for information, but the priority was still keeping people safe.
In the absence of official details, some evacuees have turned to videos circulating online. Some footage has shown houses reduced to blackened foundations in the community of Faulder, home to about 215 residents, west of Summerland.
The rider of an e-bike in the town has, meanwhile, posted videos showing his perspective pedalling through deserted and apparently undamaged streets.
An update from Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen said rapid damage assessments started Tuesday in areas north and south of Summerland.
But it was still an active fire zone, posing safety risks, and there was no timeline for when evacuees may be able to return home, the district said.
Farmers, businesses among those waiting to return
The premier acknowledged there was a huge concern among farmers who want to reach their crops and animals located in the evacuation zone.
“It’s just not safe for them to go in,” he said.
The agriculture minister was working to identify farms that could host livestock and there would be insurance for wildfire-related crop losses, Eby said.
Jonathan Kiesman was among the evacuees in Penticton. He runs a pharmacy in Summerland and said he was worried about patients in his community.
“As a health-care professional, I want to make sure that their medications are still synced and they’re still getting them,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
He said the oncoming inferno “almost brought tears to my eyes” as he drove away.
“Summerland’s a wonderful community, wonderful people, and to see something like that coming over the hill and ravaging your town was just, it was very scary, yeah, and very sad.”
A statement from the province said hotel rooms were available for evacuees in Penticton, Kelowna and West Kelowna, along with two reception centres for those needing help. An evacuee helpline is available from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Eby said there was enough accommodation, though there had been some challenges in securing places for evacuees with pets and livestock.
The province has still asked evacuees who can stay with friends or family to do so.
Fire behaviour remains unpredictable
An update from the BC Wildfire Service on Wednesday said crews had been working to establish control lines along the fire’s southern flank.
It said the fire was expected to show Rank 2 and 3 behaviour on a six-level scale, with intermittent “torching” of trees.
Thunderstorm activity was possible later Wednesday, which could fan the flames; fire behaviour would “depend on the severity of convective instability associated with thunderstorms, which can produce erratic winds,” the service said.
There are about 100 blazes across B.C., with roughly half burning out of control.
To the north of Summerland, the Central Okanagan emergency management centre said evacuation orders remained in effect for properties on the west side of Okanagan Lake due to the Quilpituk Creek fire, but crews were making progress as they worked to contain the blaze and safety assessments would soon take place.
“The re-entry plan may be in phases as assessments are conducted to support a safe and co-ordinated return home,” the centre said in an update Wednesday.
Environment Canada downgraded an air quality warning for parts of B.C.’s southern Interior on Wednesday, replacing the orange-level advisory with a yellow one spanning areas east of Pemberton to the Kootenay region.
Orange-level warnings remained for the Fraser Canyon and the south Okanagan from Osoyoos to north of Penticton.
Wildfires this season have destroyed homes around Clinton, B.C., in the south Cariboo region, as well as on Okanagan Indian Band lands in the north Okanagan.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2026.
— With files from Brenna Owen in Vancouver