Fallen trees, bears are risks for B.C. wildfire evacuees returning home: officials

Some of the first evacuees from the deadly British Columbia wildfire that had threatened Summerland and Peachland on the shores of Okanagan Lake are being allowed home, with authorities warning of risks including fallen trees, damaged buildings, and even bears that have been roaming the former evacuation zone.

The District of Summerland said Friday that evacuation orders for about 400 Trout Creek properties east of Highway 97 had been rescinded, while the Central Okanagan Regional District’s emergency operations centre said all orders for properties in Peachland came down at 6 p.m.

All those residences were put on evacuation alert, while thousands of other properties in Summerland and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen remained under evacuation orders imposed last weekend as the Bald Range wildfire exploded in size. 

The District of Summerland told returnees to fill their gas tank, bring a minimum of three days of food and essential supplies and co-ordinate the safe return of pets and livestock.

Officials said they were handing out cleanup kits to returning residents.

Summerland’s Deputy Mayor Erin Trainer warned returnees on a livestream Friday that “there are several bears down here” in the Trout Creek region, while Mayor Doug Holmes said “there’s apparently one right behind the school.”

“An RCMP officer told me he couldn’t believe how many wildlife were in Summerland,” Holmes said on the livestream hosted by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, adding that residents had been showing doorbell-camera videos of animals at their homes.

“The fire pushes out the wildlife as well and they go to areas where there are no people,” he said.

Residents of more than 2,600 other properties in the Central Okanagan, stretching north to Vernon, were allowed home earlier Friday, a day after a different blaze, the Quilpituk Creek fire, was declared held.

Vernon resident Rory Sproule was evacuated two weeks ago because of the Quilpituk fire and had been eager to get home to his cat, Spooky. He was driving his son to the airport as the order came down and he couldn’t return. 

Spooky had access to enough food and water for an extended stay, but Sproule was concerned. 

“It seemed like it was longer than it was,” he said in an interview after returning to his house on West Shore Estate. “It’s just nice to be home.”

Sproule said he slept in his car, at hotels and at his sister’s home for a few nights.
”I was ready to come home about after the first few days, but it is what it is,” he said Friday.

The Central Okanagan Regional District said Friday that evacuation orders from Cinnabar Creek to Westshore Estates were downgraded to evacuation alerts, while alerts for properties south of Cinnabar Creek in the Wilson’s Landing area were lifted.

A spokeswoman for the district said 2,648 properties had orders downgraded to alerts, while 312 properties previously on alert had that status lifted. 

Jodie Foster said on Friday that officials had “completed the rapid damage assessment yesterday and no properties have been lost in the Quilpituk Creek fire.”

Despite the lifting of some evacuation orders due to the Bald Range fire close to Okanagan Lake, it has meanwhile been showing increased activity on other flanks, and a new evacuation order was imposed Friday for some properties on Princeton-Summerland Road to the west of Summerland.

A sign is burnt by fires in Summerland B.C., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Deanna Dunham

The BC Wildfire Service said a surge in activity came with clearer skies and swirling winds on Thursday. 

The service said the fire, which has claimed one life, had been showing up to rank-four behaviour, including surface fire, torching and “passive crown fire” in trees.

The Bald Range fire forced the entire evacuation of Summerland, population 12,000, as well as surrounding communities last weekend after it exploded in size and roared west.

It measured about 200 square kilometres on Friday.

B.C. Premier David Eby told an unrelated news conference on Friday that the province was continuing talks with the federal government on how it could best assist the province in the fire fight. 

He noted the first request B.C. made after it declared a provincial state of emergency on Saturday was for more accommodation to be made available. He said military barracks were offered but were not needed.

“The requests of the federal government are really currently in the spirit of the emergency moment, making sure that our wildland firefighters — that they have all the resources they need and if they feel that the military could provide support to them, that the federal government is ready to go to assist us,” he said. 

The premier said the province is expecting “another significant fire” this season, and it continued to work with the federal government to ensure there are accommodations made available for evacuees.

Eby said Summerland’s water supply had “taken a significant hit” and the province planned to sit down with local leaders to understand the scale of what was needed, including from the federal government. 

“It’s just at this point, while we’re still in the middle of the emergency, our conversations with the federal government are about those emergency logistics right now.”

There are about 110 fires burning across B.C., with about 50 out of control.

In southeastern B.C., the Matthew Creek fire that once threatened the city of Kimberley, putting 8,100 residents on evacuation alert, was classified Friday as being held, meaning it is expected to stay within its current perimeter. 

Sproule said he had been waiting for the Quilpituk evacuation order to lift when he was allowed past the barricade around 9 a.m.

“The house is a disaster,” he said.

Spooky seemed relieved to have some company again.

“She’s usually a little bit meaner to me,” said Sproule. “But she didn’t leave my side the whole time since I got home, and is just real snuggly and happy to see me, so that’s nice.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2026.

By Brieanna Charlebois | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.