Activity picks up on the Bald Range wildfire near Summerland, Peachland

The Bald Range wildfire continues to burn out of control just outside of Summerland, B.C., and Peachland, and crews say strong fire behaviour was observed overnight.

Strong winds and low humidity kept crews busy along the southwestern flank of the fire, which has now grown to more than 22,000 hectares.

Crews say the fire remains quite stubborn, especially in difficult-to-reach terrain in the south and western portions of the fire.

The Summerland Secondary School field has been used as a helicopter landing area for wildfire operations. For the safety of Summerland residents who are returning home, air operations will be moved to Penticton Airport by Aug. 21.

Summerland Arena and Curling Club has been the Incident Command Post for wildfire operations. To make space for returning community members, these operations will shift to an Incident Command Post in Okanagan Falls over the next week.

BC Wildfire said nearby residents can expect to see smouldering ground fire and smoke from within the fire perimeter over the coming weeks, which crews said is common and typically not a concern.

On Friday and Saturday, there is the potential for the winds to pick up and temperatures to rise into the 30s with humidity around 15 per cent.

On Wednesday, crews conducted ignitions along the south flank northeast of Isintok Lake, along the Isintok-McNulty Road, to bring the fire’s edge to containment lines.

Crews will continue to assess opportunities to conduct small-scale ignitions as conditions allow, according to the BC Wildfire Service.