Wildfire smoke could be a blessing for evacuees still out of their homes in British Columbia, but it can be an unsettling sight for people who have returned home.
Erin Trainer, deputy mayor and councillor in Summerland, returned to her home in Trout Creek on Saturday morning and says most of the town is still under evacuation as the fire is still “very much active.”
Trainer says the town is still blanketed in smoke and she spent her Saturday cleaning up the ashes on her property.
The BC Wildfire Service says wildfire smoke is expected to gradually move back into central areas of the province over the weekend, which it notes could help moderate fire behaviour by reducing the amount of radiant heat reaching the landscape.
Many residents are allowed to return to their homes near Summerland and West Kelowna after evacuation orders related to the Bald Range and Quilpituk Creek wildfires were downgraded in recent days.
The wildfire service says temperatures are expected to slightly rise across central and southern regions while northwest areas will see a slight dip in temperatures.
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The province says N95 masks are now available for free in communities in the B.C. Interior to protect people from the impacts of wildfire smoke.
It says residents are encouraged to check with their local governments for more information on clean-air locations in their communities.
There are more than 120 fires burning in the province with 39 per cent of them classified as out of control.
Doug Brekfaust – Wow. Another Conservative idiot that can’t spell or put a proper sentence together LOL
“Even if they wanted to they couldn’t now because they have spent all the mine on who knows what.”
So not only are you speaking a bunch of baseless nonsense but you also need to go back to elementary school to learn proper grammar. Too funny 🤣🤣
Wow. We have had ten plus year of fires with the NDP and they have added nothing to help mitigate this situation. No extra fire fighters no extra air craft just some left over masks from Covid they couldn’t get rid of. Bravo
Even if they wanted to they couldn’t now because they have spent all the mine on who knows what.
Duncan Campbell Scott aka Doug Bob – Don’t worry buddy it’ll all be rebuilt. No need to worry about where the money comes from. It’ll be decided by people much more important and mentally stable than you are
245 First Nations structures burned down. That’s a real shame. Also the RCMP are apparently investigating arson. I guess the land stewards didn’t count on the wind blowing their fire in their direction.
I hope they had insurance. Oh wait they don’t need it because the taxpayers will cover it.
Just ask my local Shuswap FNs. They were funded and rebuilding before the Govt even started looking at the other tax paying residents who were wiped out. Their core source for individual home reconstruction still relies on private property insurance claims and personal savings.
How is that fair?
Uh oh.
TO HELL WITH GOVERNMENT! – Oh look it’s James Bilodeau making up his own lies and crying like a little bltch about the NDP as usual. Nothing to see here folks
“Libs suck
August 16, 2026 at 6:06 pm
You mean the taxpayers are paying for these masks. There for not free.”
Another braindead NAZl Conservative idiot that can’t put a proper sentence together 🤣🤣
OOO how magnanimous of them! Free masks. Now if maybe some billions where spent on mitigation and procuring real equipment to fight fires with. Maybe if we had a gov that actually stepped up in time or actually did the right things, this wouldn’t be as bad.
They give us teaspoons and masks to fight fire with. Anything bigger is too expensive but they have money for all their pet projects and raises and all the rest!
Good heavens! The government is spending a very small amount of money to provide masks to keep people from having very expensive medical issues. How irresponsible of them!
You really can’t fix stupid, but at least you can ridicule it.
Pretty clear here today in Kelowna. The media is doing its best to keep the fire theme hyped as much as they can. F*ck media needs to slapped into place!
Lets push the deficit higher with free masks. Maybe give the junkies some free fentanyl to help with the theft problems. That would be a great reason to run up the deficit
You mean the taxpayers are paying for these masks. There for not free.