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THE LATEST:
- Some Summerland residents can return home as an evacuation order has been partially downgraded to an evacuation alert.
- Hundreds of properties were taken off evacuation order in the area of the Pear Lake wildfire, including the entire Village of Clinton.
- Evacuation orders for all properties in the Peachland and Electoral Area West areas were downgraded to evacuation alerts.
- Near the Quilpituk Creek wildfire, evacuation orders for properties from Cinnabar Creek to Westshore Estates have been downgraded to an evacuation alert.
- The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says that over 100 wildfires continue to burn throughout the province.
- On Friday morning, the province said there were roughly 18,900 people under evacuation order and roughly 10,000 more on evacuation alert across B.C.
Evacuees return
Thousands of B.C. residents who have fled their homes due to wildfire will be able to return Friday, as some evacuation orders have been downgraded to alerts.
In Summerland, near where the Bald Range wildfire is raging, the District of Summerland downgraded part of its evacuation order to an evacuation alert. The district mayor says residents of about 400 properties in the Trout Creek neighbourhood east of Highway 97 can return home.
Evacuation orders for all properties in the Peachland and Electoral Area West areas were downgraded to alerts on Friday evening, according to Central Okanagan Emergency Management.
B.C. Wildfire Service firefighters work near Summerland on Thursday. (Deanna Dunham/The Canadian Press)
More than 400 properties in the area of the Pear Lake wildfire — including the entire Village of Clinton — were also taken off evacuation order on Friday evening.
An evacuation alert will be in effect for those properties instead, and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) said in an update that evacuees would begin returning to the area starting Saturday at 8 a.m. PT.
Clinton Mayor Roland Stanke told CBC’s Radio West that returning evacuees should prepare for a changed landscape due to the fire — and he estimated 100 homes were lost due to the blaze.
“There is quite a bit of devastation there. There’s a quite a few structures burned, quite a few homes burned,” he said.
A staged re-entry will also take place for evacuees from the Quilpituk wildfire, located north of Kelowna, as an evacuation order has been downgraded to an alert. According to an information officer with the emergency operations centre, the change affects about 2,400 households.
An evacuation alert in the area has also been lifted.
Central Okanagan Emergency Management said Friday morning that there will be phased re-entry access for residents to “support an organized return home and limit traffic congestion.”
The evacuation orders were partially downgraded to an alert in the area of the Quilpituk Creek fire, and residents are returning in a staged fashion to alleviate traffic concerns. (Brady Strachan/CBC)
Residents are advised to inspect their property and trees for any issues or damage before re-entering their homes.
“At this point we’re asking people to dispose of all of the contents within their fridge and freezer,” said Kari O’Rourke with the regional district, noting there would be instructions on what to do with garbage as part of a re-entry guide that’s given to returning evacuees.
No structural loss has been reported, according to the emergency management website.
The Quilpituk Creek fire was downgraded from out-of-control to being held on Thursday.
Pleas for patience near Bald Range fire
The Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) is pleading for patience from residents forced to flee their homes due to the Bald Range wildfire.
It covered an area of 198 square kilometres as of Friday around noon PT, according to the BCWS.
Crews work to extinguish spot fires near Summerland on Thursday. (Deanna Dunham/The Canadian Press)
While the RDCO says some of the thousands of evacuees from the fire may not see significant fire activity near their communities, that could change rapidly.
“Increased fire behaviour is possible today as clearer skies allow more direct sunlight to reach fuels,” the BCWS said in an update Friday morning. “This additional heating could increase fire intensity, including the potential for fire to move into the crowns of trees.”
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Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said district officials had finalized much of their re-entry plans, and evacuees would return in a staged fashion once the BCWS gives the all-clear.
“The good thing for Summerland is that it’s kind of moving away from the town,” he said of the fire on Thursday evening.
“Not so good for the people who live in the direction that the fire is moving — but for us, it’s a good development.”
Premier David Eby had previously said specialized search-and-rescue crews are being deployed to conduct damage assessments, which have also taken place in the area of the Quilpituk Creek fire in the Okanagan.
There are more than 110 active wildfires burning in B.C. as of Friday afternoon.
The largest wildfire remains the Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton, which covered an area of 1,574 square kilometres as of Friday afternoon.
In the Fraser Canyon, the Brunswick Creek fire complex around Boston Bar covered an area of more than 700 square kilometres.
Highways and air quality
Highway 97 reopened Thursday with limited daytime hours, according to DriveBC, though officials say highway conditions are subject to change with little warning and stopping isn’t allowed.
The stretch between Peachland and the Pyramid Picnic Area in Kickininee Provincial Park had been closed due to the Bald Range wildfire.
Other closures to Highway 1 north of Hope and Highway 97 north of Cache Creek remain in place.
However, in the update announcing the downgraded evacuation order in the Clinton area, the TNRD said that Highway 97 would be fully reopened at noon on Saturday.
Air quality warnings were in place for many parts of southern B.C. on Friday, with warnings of high health risk due to wildfire smoke.
An orange air quality warning, which indicates a very high health risk, was put in place for the Fraser Valley Friday afternoon.