‘It’s eerie’: Summerland residents are returning to their homes — or what’s left of them
‘I know that for some others in Summerland, they will go home to nothing,’ said one resident as the main firefight is now shifting into forested areas northwest of the community
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When Erin Trainer returned to her Summerland home Saturday afternoon, the Bald Range wildfire left its mark on her property in Trout Creek.
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Ash was settled on her deck. Burnt tree pieces and pine needles were scattered throughout the yard and a black film coated surfaces.
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‘It’s eerie’: Summerland residents are returning to their homes — or what’s left of them Back to video
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Inside, the smell of smoke lingered.
“It smells like campfire,” said Trainer, a Summerland city councillor and deputy mayor.
“It’s eerie,” Trainer said after she was able to bring her family home after the evacuation order for 400 properties in Trout Creek neighbourhood east of Highway 97 was downgraded to an alert Friday afternoon.
Trainer and her three children, dog, cat and hamster, were evacuated close to a week ago and had been staying with a friend in Okanagan Falls, just south of Summerland. Her husband, Erick Thompson, the community’s emergency operations centre commander, was working around the clock on the wildfire response.
“I’ve barely seen him,” she said.
Trainer was among the first Summerland residents allowed to return home as district officials began a phased approach to lifting evacuation orders.
Her return brought relief, but thick smoke was a stark reminder that Summerland’s wildfire emergency is far from over.
The Bald Range wildfire continues to burn out of control and has increased to 198 square kilometres. More than than 6,000 properties in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, District of Summerland and Snpink’tn Indian Band remain under evacuation order.
It’s left residents anxious to learn what remains of their homes.
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“You have this sense of guilt,” Trainer said. “I know that for some others in Summerland, they will go home to nothing.”
The main firefight is now shifting into forested areas northwest of Summerland, where extremely dry conditions are fuelling the blaze.
Hugh Murdoch, incident commander with the B.C. Wildfire Service, said in an update Friday that 320 firefighters, 114 structure protection personnel, 15 helicopters and 56 pieces of heavy equipment were assigned to the fire.
The South Okanagan has received just two millimetres of rain since July 1, leaving fuels exceptionally dry.
“That is a big challenge,” Murdoch said, noting the conditions are also contributing to heavy smoke across the region.
“That’s going to be a good firefight out in that area,” Murdoch said.
Smoke from the Bald Range and other fires has reduced visibility, making it difficult for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to operate.
Crews have had success reducing the fire perimeter closest to communities, Murdoch said, and continue to mop up remaining hotspots.
Part of the fire, particularly to the northwest, is spreading through more heavily forested terrain, where crews will concentrate their efforts in the coming days.
The operation is running around the clock, using direct and indirect firefighting strategies, small-scale ignitions, mop-up and patrols. Air tankers are also being used daily.
Trainer said she’s been fielding about 150 messages a day from Summerland residents with questions ranging from the wildfire response to the landfill and water. She has been forwarding questions to Thompson or Graham Statt, the district’s chief administrative officer.
In a livestream on the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen’s YouTube account Friday, Statt said that the first phase of re-entry went well, although he acknowledged it was not perfect.
“Our preference is to keep rolling with good enough, as long as the safety is perfect.”
Statt said officials are assessing damage and preparing the next phases of re-entry, but have not announced which neighbourhoods will be next.
“You can’t necessarily say it’s going to be this area as number two, because that area could expand or contract based on those factors on the ground,” he said.
Each area will have different re-entry requirements depending on the effects of the fire, utilities and infrastructure.
As of Saturday, there was no official count of how many homes have been lost to the wildfire.
Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said in a livestream that most of Summerland has power and the sewage treatment plant — which had been shut down for about a week — is operating again. The municipality is also making arrangements to send waste to Campbell Mountain while the landfill remains on fire.
Holmes urged residents still under evacuation orders to be patient.
“Have just a little bit more patience,” he said. “The highway opened yesterday … the steps are going to come quicker and quicker.”
