‘It’s not life back to normal,’ even as B.C. wildfire evacuees return home

An AirTag that stayed online as a wildfire roared into the outskirts of her neighbourhood in Summerland, B.C., gave Harpreet Sidhu some hope that the home she shares with her husband was still standing.

Otherwise, Sidhu said she thought it was gone, based on photos that circulated online showing the Bald Range fire racing across Cartwright Mountain.

“I really believed our place was gone along with others,” she recalled of the fire that forced thousands from the community hours after its discovery on Aug. 7.

The signal from the AirTag was lost when the power went out but it returned a few days later, and Sidhu said a neighbour sent the couple a photo taken by a camera on his property that showed at least part of their home appeared unscathed.

When they returned home on Tuesday as evacuation orders were downgraded to alerts, Sidhu said they found the flames had stopped about six metres from their backyard.

Returning felt “surreal” as the couple was met with quiet streets and green lawns along with signs of the work of structure protection crews, she said.

“I’m pretty sure they were using all of our garden hoses and sprinkler systems, anything that they had access to on top of their own equipment.”

Still, Sidhu said they saw several homes razed by the fire that was spitting embers as it exploded in size.

“There was no rhyme or reason. We made the final turn before our place and the little house on the corner was there but the … one that was right next to it was completely gone,” Sidhu said in an interview on Thursday.

On another nearby property, she said there was a gated fence and trees that were still green, but the home was gone.

Regional officials have said the fire destroyed about 150 structures; 110 in and around the Faulder and Meadow Valley, and 40 in the District of Summerland.

Sidhu said she and her husband stayed with friends in Penticton, B.C., until the air quality improved and had a chance to clean up their property.

Residents have also been advised to boil their water before consuming it.

Kerry Gold said she and her husband returned to their home in Summerland on Sunday and turned on the tap to see “filthy” sludge pouring out.

“We’re all buying our water, because who knows what’s in it,” she said Thursday.

Gold said it was very smoky, and it was still scary knowing the Bald Range fire continues to burn out of control west of the community.

“Fire can do, you know, very unpredictable things, so we know it’s still raging, that it’s still active, that it’s grown,” she said, noting the whole community remained on evacuation alert, with higher-level orders covering rural areas.

“So, it’s not life back to normal, not by any stretch.”

The fire has grown to span about 240 square kilometres, mostly pushing west, away from Summerland on the shores of Okanagan Lake.

An update from the BC Wildfire Service on Thursday said the fire’s west flank was the most active and steep terrain was adding to the challenge for crews.

While smoke from other fires had dampened fire behaviour in recent days, it said winds and temperatures reaching into the 30s were expected later this week.

“Fuels remain dry and where we see clear skies, we can expect elevated fire behaviour and activity, even without the influence of strong winds,” it said.

An information officer with the BC Wildfire Service told an online briefing this week that fire suppression equipment had been reported stolen in the Summerland area, something the service “cannot afford” as its crews battle the blaze.

Amelia Boultbee, the MLA for Penticton-Summerland, said it was “beyond infuriating” that someone had stolen “some important and expensive firefighting equipment.”

Boultbee said in a social media post on Thursday that she would personally pay a $5,000 reward to a person who came forward with information identifying and leading to the arrest of the culprit.

Gold and her husband moved to Summerland just weeks before the blaze forced them and about 20,000 others to flee, so their house doesn’t feel like home yet.

She said she was ready for fall weather, rain and relief from the “constant stress” of living with smoke and the threat of wildfire.

“This is far too unsettling. We need to, yeah, we just need this wildfire season to be over. It’s exhausting, actually, even worrying about it.”

But Gold said her experience of the wildfire emergency has left her feeling “more fond” of the Summerland community after moving from Vancouver.

“Like the second night back, we had a neighbour come by who we don’t even really know and he wanted to know if we needed anything,” she said.

In another example of community support, she said the local pharmacist called to ensure her friend, who is disabled, had access to his medication, then met Gold in the parking lot before the pharmacy had officially reopened so she could make the delivery.

“It makes me appreciate the town and I have no desire to leave,” Gold said.

There were about 120 active wildfires across B.C. on Thursday, with 45 or so burning out of control.

Four of those remained wildfires of note, including the Bald Range fire, the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek blazes in the Fraser Canyon, and the Pear Lake wildfire that destroyed structures in the south Cariboo last month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2026.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press