Monday Sky

 

Water shut-off/Upgrade Lower Village

 

Not the best image - I took it from the road.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud, already dropping from high of 13C. Those who are working today appreciate being able to have layers, instead of sweating all the time. 

Soaked

We have had one heck of a soaking, and it is still coming down. The intensity has varied, so I am hoping that has given the moisture a bit of a chance to soak in. It feels like a summer ending event. 

Snow?

In the forecast for tonight, and for Thursday night. Possible thunderstorms later today. 

Alpine Club Registration?

I don't know when registration starts, but this old bull is first in line.

 

Smoky Thursday

 An indoor day for me with the smoke, then I ventured out later for some social time. Sunnie is growing fast, and I didn't invite her on to my lap, and she hasn't quite got the message that I don't like her tongue in my ear.

I got everything ready to wash the truck this evening, then it was snowing ash.

SOGH Emergency - "Service Interruption"

 

Interior Health

 

 Emergency services at South Okanagan General Hospital in #Oliver will be unavailable from 5 p.m. today, Thursday, Aug. 27 to 7 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. Patients can access emergency care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time.

Power Back On

My power outage routine is to get info online and post it before I lose internet and/or cell service. After that, I usually go for a drive.

 

Power Out

*update - outage may have been a Fortis shut off in the area of a grass fire near Grand Forks while they were extinguishing fire from the base of the poles. Turned back on when determined safe. Pole replacement may be done at some time in the future. 

7:30pm. Looks like it may be an outage to repair damage from a vehicle fire earlier this evening

Vehicle/Grass Fire

* last FB update, fire is out, Hwy open to single lane traffic.

FB report of vehicle/grass Fire this side of the Conkle Lake turn off, Hwy 3. Was reported to 911 almost an hour ago, not yet on BCWS site.

The Heavenly Mountains - Marion Boyd

Sue Webster, Marion,  and Ethel Jones on the right.

1974 - Marion, Sue Webster, My Aunt Irene Fairweather

Rest Easy, or Rest in Peace are common sayings that don't quite fit my friend, and Baldy lifer, Marion Boyd. By now she has connected with some old friends from the UBC Varsity Outdoors Club, and is hiking the heavenly mountains. She will be looking forward to ski and snowshoe season.

Marion and Bill Boyd were the first to start construction of a cabin at Baldy, but our family was the first to occupancy with the resources of the family and Osoyoos Hardware and Lumber.

I was the eleven year old kid from across the street hanging around while Marion was peeling poles for the construction of their cabin.

When the young Boyd family arrived for the weekend, Marion and the children would come in to our warm cabin, while Bill got the wood heat going in their cabin.

Sometimes Bill would bring his guitar over to our place. Baldy used to have family dances at the lodge - young Steven would sleep in a cardboard box nearby while his parents danced.

After the sale of  the cabin to Tom and Hilary, Marion and Graeme had a condo at Apex for a time. Marion would host a group of Baldy women for a mid-week overnight and Apex ski day. We knew it was time to get out of bed when the stereo came alive with the sound of bagpipes!

There is still a little bit of the original Boyd cabin in Tom and Hilary's home, and Marion has enjoyed staying there.

The obituary has lots of info on Marion's career in social work. When she had a private practice, I was going through a difficult time and I called her. We adjusted our relationship to counsellor and client for a time, and that was immensely helpful.

If I had been able to talk Marion into a lighter, shorter pair of skis, she might have skied longer, but she loved to snowshoe, and was a valued elder in the Baldy Babes.

Maybe the ski thing was her Scottish heritage. When she went to cross/back country ski in the Rockies, she preferred my old 1980's leather boots and the dated skinny tele skis. No need to spend money on modern rentals.

I am in the process of looking for photos for Marion's family, so this post only has two at the moment, but there will be more. We miss you Marion. 84 years well lived, and a huge hole in the lives of those who loved her.

Obituary courtesty of Nunes-Pottinger. Condolences to Marion's family can be sent from their website.

Marion Boyd

 February 4, 1942 - August 17, 2026

Marion Carole Boyd (née Gardiner) of Oliver, BC, was born February 4, 1942, in Vancouver, and died August 17, 2026, at her home in Oliver at the age of 84 years. She was predeceased by her father, James Gardiner, from Glasgow, Scotland and her mother, Gertrude Gardiner (née Sully) from Cereal, Alberta, who settled in Vancouver, where Marion was raised. She is survived by her siblings, Kyle (Lynne) Gardiner and Jean Gardiner, her children Steven Boyd (Shana) and Monica Devereux (Armin), and stepchildren Jan Nelson (Michiko) and Ian Nelson (Sarah). She was surrounded by the love of her grandchildren Duncan, Max, Caitlín, Connor, Saya, Kana and Ren, each of whom held a treasured place in her life. Family was at the very centre of Marion’s world, and she loved hers fiercely, loyally and with enormous pride.

Marion was trained as a social worker, with degrees in a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Masters of Social Work (MSW) from the University of British Columbia. Her career began in Vancouver, where she made lifelong connections (Leza) and then moved to Oliver with her former husband, Bill Boyd, in 1968. As a social worker in Oliver, she worked in the Extended Care Unit as well as Acute Care at South Okanagan General Hospital. Her work was with patients and their families, including counselling for those who were depressed, grieving, and recovering from abuse. She had a special focus on the needs of women and children. At the hospital she chaired the group who set up hospice and palliative care and started the Sexual Abuse Intervention program. After retiring from the hospital, she had a private practice and provided counselling for the Mental Health program of the Nk’Mip Indian Band. She did adoptions of both local and international children throughout her career. She retired in 2013 after providing decades of service to the Oliver community. Her work as a social worker was an extension of something that came naturally to Marion. She had a remarkable ability to listen, to understand what lay beneath the surface, and to know what someone needed to hear – whether or not it was what they wanted to hear. Friends and family turned to her throughout her life for comfort, perspective and guidance, and she, in turn, drew strength and support from the deep relationships she nurtured.

Marion loved to explore the mystery of life and approach it with both awe and wonder. She was passionate about nourishing curiosity and encouraged her family to explore the world, discover its wonders, and take a positive and hopeful outlook on life. Her core identity was her love of writing. She wrote articles for the Oliver Chronicle in the 1970’s called “Off The Top”, in the 1990’s she wrote a series that was read on the CBC about her year in China, and she continued to share her love of reading and writing with her poetry club. She travelled extensively throughout the world including Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Some of her fondest memories are of treks in Nepal, led by her treasured friend, Ang Dorjee Sherpa. Her lifelong love of hiking and skiing in the outdoors was born by becoming a Sea Ranger in West Vancouver as a young woman, led by her godmother, Aubin Fairley. Later at UBC she joined the Varsity Outdoors Club and its members became a constant thread throughout her life, maintained through annual gatherings that happen to this day. 

In Oliver, she poured her energy into creating and strengthening community. She was a founder of the South Okanagan Concert Society and helped found and nurture many of the groups and circles that became such an important part of her life, including the infamous BAGS, Val Friesen’s opera group, Baldy Babes, Grandmothers for Africa, Monday Ladies Bike Club, Book Club, Sage Valley Singers, Spirit Group (women’s group) and much more. In the past 15 years, she reconnected with the United Church in Oliver and Penticton. Marion had little interest in relationships that stayed on the surface; she was genuinely curious about people and wanted to know them deeply. Many of those friendships lasted for decades.

Marion loved her Scottish roots and her red hair that gave her license to assume a fiery flare. Those who know her will appreciate the courageous decisions she made throughout her life – her bravery and determination were an inspiration to many. Her favourite places to be were on top of a mountain or at her beloved Tuc-el-nuit Lake, where on her patio she forged deep connections with countless friends. Above all, her favourite thing was her family. We will all miss her immensely.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to one of her favourite charities: BC Cancer Foundation (bccancerfoundation.com), MADD (madd.ca), Indspire: A Richer Life for Indigenous Youth (indspire.ca), or the Canadian Wildlife Federation (cwf-fcf.org). Or choose one that is close to your heart.

A United Church memorial service will be held at Park Drive Church, 6570 Park Drive, Oliver at 10:00 am, Saturday October 3, 2026. For those who cannot attend in person a live stream will be aired through Marion’s tribute page, click the red LIVE SERVICE button and once the stream goes live:

Condolences and tributes may be directed to the family by visiting 

 https://nunes-pottinger.com/obituary/marion-boyd/

Peachland, new fire this evening

Ground crews are making progress, but air support was grounded by some thoughtless person with a drone. 

Wylee's Hike

It is very dry, even at the top. Trees are dying.

If you are a regular reader, you know I am not fond of Facebook

I tried to be helpful and answer a question about hydrants, then the thread expanded to the point, that I am not interested in giving a history lesson and answering too many questions from someone I don't know.

I deleted what I had posted, which in turn removes comments posted under my comments.

The guy probably won't be happy with me for doing that. When I bought my lot in 1973, I did my due diligence, knew what I was buying, and what was and was not in place.

We definitely felt it

 

For me, it was as if a D8 cat was driving down my driveway.

Magnitude	2.9 ML (± 0.24)
Latitude	49.34°N (± 0.28 km)
Longitude	119.28°W (± 0.25 km)
Depth	15.8 km (± 0.2 km)
Time (local)	2026-08-18 23:17:49 PDT
Time (UTC)	2026-08-19 06:17:49 UTC
Seismological region	British Columbia, Canada
Event ID	ca2026qjhq

FireSmart Rebate Funding - new applications on hold as 2026 funding is close to being totally allocated.

 Around the Boundary

Regional District of Kootenay Boundary · ·

A little FireSmart good news!

Our 2026 Residential FireSmart Rebate Program has been a HUGE success, with RDKB residents taking meaningful steps to make their homes and neighbourhoods more wildfire-resilient.

We’re now approaching our full 2026 rebate funding allocation, so new applications are temporarily on hold while we review applications already received, in the order they came in.

Already applied? Your application has been received! We’re working through submissions and will contact you directly once we know whether funding is available for your project.

And don’t worry - FireSmart isn’t stopping! We’ll continue providing FireSmart assessments, education and support across the region.

We’ll share updates as they become available, including information about potential 2027 funding.

Thanks to everyone who has rolled up their sleeves and taken action to make our region more resilient. Every FireSmart step counts!

#FireSmart #RDKB #WildfireResilience

Annibirthary Week

The red dog family is stuck inside their home with smoke surrounding them and wildfires not far away. They would love to be celebrating up here this week, but it is not an option.

Happy Birthday to Jim today, Marian a week from now, and their anniversary in between. 

Hoping for better conditions soon.🎂

SOGH ER

 *** Emergency services at South Okanagan General Hospital in #Oliver will be unavailable from 7 p.m. today, Aug. 17 until 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. Patients can access emergency care at Penticton Regional Hospital during this time

Sunday Air

After a few clean air days, it smells smoky today. We have had worse. I left my window open last night hoping to cool down the inside, but the smoke woke me during the night. 

On the road..........

Met a vehicle this evening driving at a high rate of speed. Dust and tracks indicate it came out of Mica Creek FSR. No good reason to be in there.

Going to North Delta?

There is a 93 year old gentleman in Sunshine Hills who has not had a delivery of my apricot jam since November. His wife has forbidden me to ship Canada Post.

If anyone is going from Baldy to North Delta one of these days, I would be happy to give you some jam for delivering.

They love me, so won't stay mad too long if I do mail the jam.

Two loads of pre-assembled parts arrived today for Mike and Susi's place.

Mike and Susi have been putting in long hours, time for a break. JMF Construction will take over now putting the puzzle pieces together.

Please be patient with the slings of  house parts at the side of the road. They'll disappear fairly quickly once Jeff's crew starts the assembly.

Friday Pour

 

Interesting to watch Mike get the pumper truck boom under the wires then fully extended for the back wall.

Updates - Thursday

Lots on the go, so behind a little on posts. Prinoth is out of the shop and tracks back on. PB outside the shop ready to shed tracks and go in for service.

Foundation walls poured for 2 of the 3 new cabins in our community, the third pours tomorrow.

We still have Baldy family members on alert, and fighting fire. It has been good to get a little moisture up here and cooler temperatures and clean air the last couple of days. We did get a little thunder around 7:00pm last night.

I shake my head - coming back from town this afternoon, I met a load of firewood coming down. Whoever it was waved at me, but I am not pleased to see chainsaws being used in the bush these days.

My neighbour asked the other day if I had an ant problem - I didn't think so, but now they are appearing in the bathtub and bathroom sink!

It is great to have children living on the mountain - laughter and activity. Current count is 6.

Interesting Takeaways from this evening's media event

The initial explosive growth of the Summerland wildfire was not caused by a wind event, it was caused by the extremely dry fuels.

RCMP are conducting a criminal investigation - initiated by information they received from BC Wildfire. They also do a thorough investigation when an incident involves loss of life, and massive loss of values.

RCMP are asking for any dashcam or other videos and observations from the Princeton - Summerland road from Friday afternoon.

Off Road Vehicle Ban in Place for Southeast Fire Centre

Off-road vehicles to be prohibited in the Southeast Fire Centre

August 10, 2026

CASTLEGAR – Effective at 12 p.m. (noon) PT on August 10, 2026, off-road vehicles (ORV) will be prohibited on crown land throughout the Southeast Fire Centre, which includes the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District and the Selkirk Natural Resource District.

Given the scope and scale of fires currently burning in B.C., and the elevated danger ratings in many southern regions of the province, this prohibition is being put into place to further protect public safety.

As of 12 p.m. (noon) PT, August 10, 2026, the operation of any off-road vehicle for recreational purposes on Crown land will be prohibited and all on-highway vehicles must remain on road surfaces as defined in the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation.

The prohibition applies to off-road vehicles as defined in the Off-Road Vehicle Act and section 2 (a) of the Off-Road Vehicle Regulation:

• all-terrain vehicles
• motorcycles
• off road side-by-side vehicles

This prohibition does not apply to private lands or national parks. It also does not apply to emergency response, agriculture or commercial / industrial users who operate off road vehicles for farming or business purposes. 

Also applies for Coastal, Kamloops, and Cariboo Fire Centres.

New fire start, south east of Kelowna

UPDATE 1 p.m.

Firefighting aircraft remain over a new wildfire southeast of Kelowna.

The BC Wildfire service says there are now three helicopters responding to the fire along with three initial attack crews.

"Airtankers were on site earlier and boxed the fire in with retardant," said BCWS in a note online.

The fire is still estimated at 1.1 hectares.

 Fire Number K51522 - air resources deployed

1.1 Hectares

Discovered On August 10, 2026

Years Ago

Around 2010, there was an assessment done by Fred Marshall indicating a high fuel load below us, and a community in need of major FireSmart type work.

When I started posting about that kind of stuff, I received photos and info from a Baldy skier I've known most of my life. His submissions detailed the work that Oregon had done around their cities/communities. Spacing trees and removing ground and ladder fuels.

We have had some of that type of work done below us. Lobbying for more forest management Province wide is important.

As a community, we all need to do more to FireSmart our properties. As long as our village has dense tree stands, and carpets of needles, all of our properties are at risk.

I won't photograph and shame some of the worst lots, but there are standing dead trees on properties where ownership tends to walk away at the end of the ski season, and not come up in the off season. Trees are dying in the village. When they land on your cabin, the costs will exceed what it costs to take them down. When they fall on your neighbour's home, that is another story.

I have a sprinkler on my roof, but I was stunned by the report of an experienced structure protection fellow who stayed behind on Westside Road. He had a sprinkler system running, but the fire was so intense he went into the lake and watched his home burn.

Community

Josh Tomlin received a commendation for his life saving role when a fellow customer collapsed in Osoyoos Home Hardware in 2024.

Scott and Robin hauled a load of donated goods for the evacuees in Penticton.

Deb and Kerry are housing 5 evacuees while they are on evacuation alert themselves in Penticton.

New neighbour Andrew is finally home and not looking scary anymore after a motorcycle accident in late June. I told him helping is the Baldy way, but he kindly brought gifts for Janine and I today.

Baldy Family

Members of our community have been affected by alerts and/or orders in Peachland, Summerland, and now just north of Penticton. 

If you can do additional FireSmart work on your property without using tools that could generate a spark, please do so.

Have your grab and go bags ready.

What is alarming..........

In the media availability today, the severity and speed of the fire near Summerland was described as something that had never been seen before. More than 50 people were rescued by helicopter.

The  BCWF service is expecting that there will be another fire of this magnitude given the drought, dryness, heat and wind.

In 2021 we had some time to gather our things and leave. If you haven't already done so, it is a good idea to make a video or take photos of the contents of your cabin.

Have your most important stuff packed and by the door. 

Provincial Update today

 

Faint hope?

One weather guesser suggesting moisture Wednesday night. 

Our thoughts are with Baldy families

Baldy families are still affected by earlier fires, and now Baldy Summerland families have had a terrifying night.

It is windy now at Baldy, and smoky.

Summerland Fire, and Smoke here

The fire discovered by the Summerland to Princeton backroad has ballooned to 9500ha as of the most recent update. All of Summerland is evacuated. Some of the residents near the fire had to be rescued by helicopter last night.

 https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map?longitude=-119.881&latitude=49.6293&activeWildfires=true

DIY Air Filters

 

New Fire West of Summerland

9:00pm  5000 hectares

8:00pm 1000 hectares

7:20pm   400 hectares

Out of control, growing, 50 hectares, aerial and ground response under way. Wind is not helping.

Thursday's Four Truck Pour

Thanks Mike for the heads up yesterday. I watched maybe half of the four truck pour for the new cabin next door to what was Brian and Kay's cabin. I knew 3 out of the four concrete truck drivers, the boom truck controller, and I introduced myself to the next generation manager of Osoyoos Readi Mix. I know his parents and Uncle from my school days, and knew his grandfather from my Packinghouse days.

In my bins of prints, I have a toddler photo of the owner of Kreative Krete, but I did not talk to him as he was manning the pour hose.