What to know about the Bald Range fire and B.C.’s wildfire emergency

Premier David Eby has said British Columbia’s wildfire season turned “brutal,” with a ferocious blaze that led to the death of an 80-year-old woman and forced some 20,000 people out of their homes in the south Okanagan last weekend.

Here are key facts about B.C.’s ongoing wildfire situation, which prompted officials to declare a provincial state of emergency on Aug. 8.

The Bald Range fire

— An update from Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen on Thursday said a stretch of Highway 97 near Summerland, B.C., was reopening between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. after the surging wildfire forced its closure overnight on Aug. 7.

— The district said there was no access to side roads leading to areas still subject to evacuation orders without a temporary pass.

— The fire spanned about 191 square kilometres on Thursday, up from about 184 square kilometres the day before, burning on the western shores of Okanagan Lake.

— The B.C. government has said a small heard of iconic mountain goats living on the slopes above Highway 97 in the Summerland area is “thought to have escaped” the blaze.

— The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said Thursday the herd consisting of some 30 animals was believed to be in an area north of the fire.

— An update from the BC Wildfire Service said thunderstorms had begun developing over the northwestern portion of the blaze and its behaviour would depend on the level of instability and winds accompanying the weather system.

— Chief Greg Gabriel of the Penticton Indian Band, whose members are among the evacuees, said Wednesday that intensifying wildfires aren’t natural occurrences and more action must be taken to mitigate the blazes along with worsening drought.

— Gabriel also asked the province to address the need for an alternative escape route in the area, where residents described long line ups of vehicles as they fled the blaze.

— Officials told a briefing on Wednesday they could not yet shed light on the scope of the structural losses, saying it was still an active fire zone.

-The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has said rapid damage assessments started Tuesday in areas north and south of Summerland.

— There was no timeline yet for when evacuees may be able to return home.

The Brunswick complex 

— The Brunswick complex includes the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek fires, together spanning more than 700 square kilometres in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon.

— The fires continue to burn out of control, with the Ainslie Creek blaze pushing east in the direction of the Coquihalla Highway and the City of Merritt, B.C.

— An update from the BC Wildfire Service on Thursday said the fire’s “aggressive” behaviour on its southern flank in the Fraser Canyon was challenging control lines, but the flames hadn’t crossed them.

— The service has said rockfall remained a hazard along stretches of Highway 1, particularly in the China Bar area outside the community of Boston Bar, B.C., where the fire was burning on steep slopes and dislodging debris.

The Pear Lake fire 

— The Pear Lake fire continues to burn out of control, scorching nearly 1,500 square kilometres of land since it was detected July 17 in the south Cariboo region, around Clinton, B.C., about 380 or so kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

— A series of evacuation orders and alerts cover parts of the south Cariboo due to the blaze and two others burning nearby, stretching from South Chilcotin Mountains Park in the west to the outskirts of Cache Creek, B.C., in the east.

— The Pear Lake fire prompted the Bonaparte First Nation to issue an evacuation order for two of its reserves located along Highway 99 west of Cache Creek this week.

— An evacuation order was downgraded for a handful of properties south of 70 Mile House on Wednesday but remained in effect for about 450 properties in the Bonaparte Plateau, part of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

— An evacuation alert remained in surrounding areas, along with several other alerts from the Squamish-Lillooet and Cariboo regional districts.

— The wildfire service has said crews were continuing to extinguish hot spots around the perimeter of the massive blaze, guided by infrared scanning completed at night.

— The Pear Lake blaze surged about a week after its discovery, and while the village of Clinton, B.C., was largely spared, officials have said the fire has destroyed structures on 170 properties in the area.

Elsewhere in B.C.

— The Quilpituk Creek fire has been declared “held,” meaning it’s expected to remain within its current boundary based on forest fuels, weather conditions and firefighting resources as it burns on the western shores of Okanagan Lake.

— An update from the Central Okanagan emergency management centre on Thursday said it was deploying a rapid damage assessment team that would look at any damaged power infrastructure and potentially dangerous trees.

— The centre said it would share details with evacuated residents on Friday about when they can expect to return home.

— To the north, the Bradley Creek fire was declared “held” on Aug. 8, a week after destroying more than 200 homes on Okanagan Indian Band lands, but it wasn’t yet clear when residents would be able to return to those homes spared by the flames.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026.