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BC wildfire service says crews are still busy working on spot fires like this one in Summerland B.C., on Thursday.Deanna Dunham/The Canadian Press
Crews fighting a large wildfire near Summerland, B.C., are successfully holding the blaze on three sides, while battling challenging conditions on its western flank.
An update from BC Wildfire Service says the northwestern portion of the fire near the Princeton-Summerland Road corridor has been a challenge but there’s still “considerable distance” separating the fire from the community.
More evacuees have been allowed to go home to Summerland after a set of three evacuation orders have been downgraded to alerts in the Trout Creek neighbourhood on the southern end of the community and in sections along Highway 97.
Residents remain on evacuation alert and they’ve been warned that still-burning fires could upend plans without warning.
Inside the early battle against the ferocious Bald Range wildfire
Hugh Murdoch with the BC Wildfire Service says crews have had success in knocking down the fire closest to the communities but are still busy clearing up hot spots.
He says residents can expect firefighting efforts to shift northwest, where blazes are burning into more forested areas, as hotter weather and drier conditions linger.
More than 20,000 residents were evacuated when the Bald Range fire exploded on Aug. 7, triggering emergency orders in Summerland and nearby Peachland.
The latest updates from the fire service on Monday says residents can expect to see smouldering ground fire and smoke from within the fire perimeter over the coming weeks.
“This is common following large wildfires and is typically not a concern. Smoke rising from green, unburned fuels outside the fire perimeter should be reported,” the update says.
For many residents, the road to recovery will be a long one.
Roie Manoff, a fighter pilot turned winemaker, has described the fire as being brutal, stormy, fast-moving and immense as it roared through town.
Manoff, the owner of Silkscarf winery, says the fire has left a lasting scar for many, as his friends and colleagues lost their homes.
He says he has weathered many storms in his life, and after more than two decades in business, he understands it would be a losing battle to fight nature.
“We have to understand that that’s probably a new norm. We have to be prepared,” Manoff said in an interview. “We have to be able to provide updated, reliable information to anyone in need … and cross fingers that one day things will be better.”
The Bald Range fire at estimated to be about 212 square kilometres in size.
In other wildfire locations in the province, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said it would be accepting all fridges and freezers this week free of charge from residents who have been allowed to return to evacuation zones in the Village of Clinton and surrounding areas.
Food has been rotting in the appliances since the power went out and the Pear Creek fire threatened the communities last month.
The fire has grown to 1,593 square kilometres since it was first reported July 17.
A provincewide wildfire update on Monday said hot and dry weather was expected to continue for the central and southern regions, while there will be a slight downturn in temperatures for northern parts of B.C.
“Winds will continue to remain light in southern half of the province,” it said.
Environment Canada said large swaths of southern B.C. are under either an orange or a yellow air quality warning due to wildfire smoke.
The weather agency says the areas are being impacted or are likely to be impacted by smoke over at least the next two days.