With 500-plus structures damaged or lost, B.C.’s fire season is among the worst

The worst recent human toll was in 2023, when six firefighters were killed. An 80-year-old-woman is the only known fatality this year. RCMP say she died suddenly while she was evacuating her home in Meadow Valley, west of Summerland, ahead of the Bald Range fire.

Here’s how the 2026 destruction has been accumulating:

THE BALD RANGE FIRE

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen says the fire is still burning out of control west of Okanagan Lake and has destroyed or damaged about 150 properties; 40 in Summerland and more than 100 in other areas, including the community of Faulder, which has been largely razed.

THE BRADLEY COMPLEX

This group of fires at the northern end of Okanagan Lake near Vernon has been declared held. The chief of the Okanagan Indian Band says about 230 homes, including about 30 homes of band members and 200 non-band homes on its land, were destroyed by the Bradley Creek blaze when it swept through the area on Aug. 1.

THE BIG BAR COMPLEX

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says structures have been destroyed on about 120 properties outside Clinton, with the massive 1,600-square-kilometre Pear Lake fire still burning out of control. The district estimates losses could total several hundred structures.

BRUNSWICK COMPLEX

The Fraser Valley Regional District says seven structures, including four homes or cabins and three other structures, were destroyed by the Brunswick complex of fires that threatened the community of Boston Bar. It continues to burn out of control, almost seven weeks after it was detected.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

With 500-plus structures damaged or lost, B.C.’s fire season is among the worst

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