Officials addressed the public Monday night after another day of continued growth for the Bald Range fire in and around Summerland, B.C. Updated information has the blaze measured at 15,590 hectares, or 155.9 square kilometres—more than twice the size of Summerland, which is 74.08 square kilometres according to Statistics Canada. Criminality or arson being factors in the fire were points of conversation among officials, as local RCMP confirmed they’re investigating potential causes. Hugh Murdock, the B.C. Wildfire Service incident commander in charge of the Bald Range fire, didn’t suggest any specific cause, instead saying additional accelerants weren’t necessary to create the explosive and destructive blaze. “What I can tell you is that when I came to this fire, it had already been burning for a number of hours, and I would suggest that Mother Nature has provided all the accelerant necessary to do what’s happened,” he said. “This fire went from a very, very small point source to several 1,000 hectares between that mid-afternoon start to the end of the day, really shows the volatility of the forests in this area.” Law enforcement update RCMP Supt. Beth McAndie said local police have had to make some arrests; however, they were unrelated to the fire’s cause She said, just before coming to the meeting, she learned about a person who attempted to charge through a roadblock barring the evacuation area. As McAndie explained, he was given a considerable fine when intercepted by police. In another instance, she said a man was arrested inside the evacuation order area on Sunday. McAndie added that Mounties are hoping to speak with anyone who may have been in areas of concern on Friday afternoon, when the fire sparked. “Investigators are interested in speaking to witnesses who may have observed any actions or activities around the Princeton Summerland Road and Bathville Road, near and in the Crump Recreation Site and Trout Creek Recreation Site,” she said. “Police are looking to review any dashcam footage, videos, photos, and information from Friday, August 7, beginning in the afternoon hours.” Critical infrastructure, challenging conditions Murdock called the battle against Bald Range a “true firefight” for the crews. Steep topography in the area has provided consistent challenges for both ground crews and those fighting the blaze from the air, he said. “Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s very hot, it’s very dry … the visibility is very taxing,” he said, noting that fire fuels have been feeding Bald Creek all over. “It takes more time to fight fires when it’s that kind of active fire, and it’s not the type of fire behaviour that you want to be right up against.” “The conditions with the visibility and the topography make it extremely challenging—oftentimes it’s just not capable of flying.” One area of growing concern is Summerland’s now-burning landfill, according to Murdock. “It’s not the type of fire that our crews are equipped to fight. That non-vegetative smoke would not be something that we would want to be engaged with,” he explained, noting that its burning contents aren’t something the wildfire service is equipped to deal with. The landfill and its burning materials aren’t far from the local water treatment plant, which Graham Statt, chief administrative officer for the District of Summerland, said isn’t online but is an area of focus. “It’s a live situation around the water treatment plant,” he said. “The facility itself remains intact. We have staff working in the water treatment plant with permission right now to get things going again to start flushing systems—all as part of this reentry planning.” “As mentioned, the landfill nearby is literally on fire, and we’re currently fighting it. It’s not far from the water treatment plant at this time.” As of Monday evening, nearly 100 firefighters were working against the blaze, with eight helicopters and 25 pieces of heavy equipment providing support, all numbers the BCWS said are dynamic and susceptible to change. Officials have expressed concerns over the potential for increased fire activity if weather conditions change, but Murdock said crews will continue suppression efforts, nonetheless. “There’s a lot of ground to cover. It’s a monumental task, but we’re putting our best foot forward,” he said.
