More evacuees return home to Summerland as firefighting efforts move to northwest
More wildfire evacuees returned home to Summerland on Monday morning, more than a week after the Bald Range fire forced them to flee.
On Monday morning, evacuees from the Bald Range fire in Summerland, British Columbia returned home, more than a week after being forced to flee the blaze. Three evacuation orders have been reduced to evacuation alerts near Okanagan Lake. The Bald Range fire currently spans over 21,000 hectares.
The BC Wildfire Service reports that crews are still working to extinguish hot spots within Summerland, but they have managed to contain the fire perimeter near the communities. Incident commander Hugh Murdoch provided an update via video, announcing that firefighting efforts will now shift west and northwest to more forested areas. He explained that this change in strategy requires a more traditional firefighting approach due to the current conditions.
Currently, over 500 personnel are assigned to the Bald Range fire, along with 16 helicopters and nearly 60 pieces of heavy equipment. Fire behaviour analyst Eric Kopetski highlighted the significant challenges faced by firefighters, stating that the smoke is making it extremely difficult for aircraft to operate. He also noted that the drought conditions in the area have exacerbated the situation, with no precipitation recorded on the fire for the past 40 days, allowing the fuels to reach near-record levels of dryness.
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