The view from above

I have written so much recently about the Bald Range wildfire which forced the evacuation of our little town of Summerland on Friday night, August 7, 2026. A search on my blogsite will bring up many different perspectives of our amazing story.

Additionally, I photographed from a number of unique angles a gathering in our local park this past Monday night that gathered over 2,000 residents and guests. Together, we expressed our gratitude to emergency services personnel including BC Wildfire fighters; to many assisting fire departments from up and down the Okanagan Valley; also to many who arrived from other Canadian provinces and from as far away as Mexico and New Zealand. We gave special and enthusiastic praise to our local, mainly volunteer fire fighters who likely faced the most difficult callout of their life. With no exaggeration, they took a stand on Cartwright Ave (where we bought our first home in 1997) and saved the downtown core.

Thinking I had nothing more to share, I stumbled across the image above which puts into perspective the size and shape of one of British Columbia’s most dangerous fires, ever. The little orange star marks our home which was for a time in the crosshairs of the fire when we evacuated. Fortunately, for us, the wind changed and our home escaped damage. Others; not so much. A friend, Susan, just wrote on Facebook:

   We have been back at our home for a week now, since Aug. 25. Our house is fine, but our yard is damaged, so there is work to do. Also, we had no access to our fridge or freezer for the 19 days we were evacuated (and without power), so we borrowed a spare fridge until our new appliances arrive. Any day now.

   We are extremely fortunate to have a home, mostly because our neighbours, whose land we cross to reach our home, stayed to fight the fire. They saved our home.

   The community of Faulder, however – much like Lytton in 2021 – was essentially wiped out in the Bald Range Wildfire. Only a handful of houses remain now, including ours. Travelling anywhere in this area is a tragic patchwork of charred trees, interspersed with patches of green that remained relatively untouched by this monstrous fire. Many of our beloved trails are now moonscapes of grey ash-coloured ground skewered with black spikes that were once beautiful green trees.

Hang in there Susan, and others who are still directly affected. As reported by Castanet “trained volunteers from the Christian Natural Disaster organization, Samaritan’s Purse equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment, will conduct ash sifting activities at destroyed home sites to help families recover important personal belongings and keepsakes . . . Volunteers will first meet with families to understand which items they are hoping to find, and then work to locate and return those items to them.”

Other friends are attending to their damaged home having also lost outbuildings and an office block on the grounds of their Cherry Orchard operation.

In other words, the work is not over by any means. If there is a final “word” on the fire let the image above speak loudly.

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