UPDATE: Helicopters airlift residents from Faulder as Bald Range wildfire destroys multiple structures, surges to 5,000 hectares

PENTICTON — Helicopters were pressed into service late Friday to airlift residents from the Faulder area west of Summerland after the rapidly expanding Bald Range wildfire cut off ground access and began destroying structures..Video circulating Friday evening shows multiple buildings fully involved or already reduced to rubble in the Faulder zone as intense flames and heavy smoke rolled through the community. The footage confirms significant structure loss in the area under evacuation order, though official damage assessments have not yet been released..The fire, which ignited before 5 p.m. along the Princeton-Summerland Road, grew with extreme speed. By 7:30 p.m. it was mapped at 1,000 hectares. By approximately 8:55 p.m., B.C. Wildfire Service estimates put the Bald Range wildfire at 5,000 hectares and still displaying aggressive rank 5 fire behaviour under strong winds.Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Senior Manager of Communications Erick Thompson said some residents faced challenges leaving the area. “There were some people who were having challenges getting out. So certainly, all efforts are being made to help,” Thompson said. “With a fire like this, you just don’t know what’s going to happen. If it’s threatening your home, you feel unsafe, you just need to leave the area.”He urged the public to stay away from the fire zone entirely. “This is not a good time for anybody to be going into the area of Summerland, where this fire is, or the regional district, which is just northwest of Summerland in the Faulder area.”.According to multiple accounts relayed by Okanagan Fire Scanner on X, residents reported having only about five minutes before being rushed onto helicopters. “Multiple people being rescued by helicopter in Summerland. Many accounts of having 5 minutes and then being shoved into the helicopter,” the scanner account reported..Princeton-Summerland Road remains closed in both directions. B.C. Wildfire Service continues to deploy ground crews, structure protection units, helicopters and airtankers against the out-of-control blaze.Premier David Eby posted Friday evening that his “thoughts are with people in the Summerland area tonight — and the firefighters and emergency personnel working hard to keep people safe.” The statement drew mostly negative responses, with many questioning why it took so long for Summerland residents to be put on evacuation alert..The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Officials continue to warn that conditions remain highly dangerous and fluid as the fire continues to grow overnight.

UPDATE: Helicopters airlift residents from Faulder as Bald Range wildfire destroys multiple structures, surges to 5,000 hectares

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