UPDATE: Around 150 structures damaged or destroyed in Bald Range wildfire
Published 6:30 pm Monday, August 17, 2026
UPDATE: (6:30 p.m.)
The first updates on damage from the Bald Range wildfire have been released by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and District of Summerland.
Summerland CAO Graham Statt shared during the nightly RDOS live update that about 150 structures had been damaged or destroyed by the wildfire.
“That is both Area F and also Summerland proper,” said Statt. “Based on the data I’ve seen so far, approximately 40 structures damaged or destroyed in Summerland proper, and the remainder of that approximate 150 outside of Summerland.”
Statt and RDOS Emergency Operations Centre information officer Erick Thompson made sure to emphasize that the initial numbers did not distinguish between main structures like homes and secondary buildings like sheds.
Thompson shared that he had made a visit to the community to gather information and photos of the community, which were shared in the livestream.
More exact details will be shared once the property owners have been contacted, Thompson shared.
Wood chip and compost piles remain on fire at Summerland landfill, with Statt saying the fire remained contained to those two portions of the site.
The District is working on a new, searchable map that will allow residents to see how long their power was off on their property during the outage caused by the initial advance of the wildfire.
ORIGINAL STORY:
BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews are continuing to battle the Bald Range wildfire on Monday, Aug. 17.
In a video update on Sunday, Aug. 16, BCWS incident commander Hugh Murdoch said the fire is continuing to move west, where it will turn into a “more traditional fire fight.”
Overnight, ground crews continued to build guard and hold established control lines in the northwest part of the blaze. Structure protection crews also worked throughout the night.
On Sunday, 13 helicopters combined to deliver an estimated 20,000 litres of water per hour, which was bucketed onto the blaze to help with suppression efforts.
On the north flank of the blaze, firefighters are successfully holding the fire behind control lines, while structure protection resources have demobilized from areas where they are no longer required. Heavy equipment is continuing to build a contingency guard while danger tree experts are moving hazardous trees from roadways.
In the south, control lines have also been established by firefighters and heavy equipment while structure protection is also demobilizing on the area. Ground crews are continuing to identify hot spots.
The fire remains on the western side of Mt. Conkle and west of the ecological reserve.
Along Okanagan Lake and Highway 97, the blaze is successfully held behind control lines, which helped reopen Highway 97 to all traffic on Sunday. However, no exiting is allowed into areas under evacuation order, and drivers need to watch for crews and equipment and drive with caution. Smoke could limit visibility, and the highway could close suddenly and with little to no notice. For up-to-date highway information, visit DriveBC.
The western flank is causing the most issues for crews at the moment, particularly in the northwestern portion of the fire near the Princeton-Summerland Road corridor.
“The northwestern area remains a priority for suppression efforts,” stated BCWS in a Sunday night update. “The fire perimeter remains approximately 19 km from the Osprey Lake area, with considerable distance still separating the fire from the community.”
Heavy equipment crews have been supporting indirect attack operations by establishing and reinforcing control lines. Crews have also been constructing hand guard and will conduct planned ignitions where conditions allow.
BCWS is providing 24-hour coverage as crews battle the Bald Range blaze, which is listed at an estimated 21,256 hectares in size.
There is currently an incident command team, 246 firefighting personnel, 13 helicopters, 62 pieces of heavy equipment, and 180 structure protection personnel.
At this time, nine evacuation orders and 14 evacuation alerts remain in place. The map of orders and alerts can be found on the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) website.
The cause of the wildfire remains under investigation. It is one of four wildfires of note and one of 127 active wildfires currently in the province.
Black Press Media will update the situation throughout the day.