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.
| 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 |
A little FireSmart good news! 
Thanks to everyone who has rolled up their sleeves and taken action to make our region more resilient. Every FireSmart step counts!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.🎂
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| Interesting to watch Mike get the pumper truck boom under the wires then fully extended for the back wall. |
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.
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.
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:
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.
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, 2026Around 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
If you haven't already done so, take the time to view the 47 minute documentary on managing forests. Reducing wildfire intensity, improving carbon capture, reducing wildfire costs.
This list compiled by Castanet:
I have had a roof top sprinkler for many years. I considered switching to another sprinkler set up that does not involve getting up on the roof in the spring and fall.I discovered during the 2015 Rock Fire, that I could open a window and exchange the air in the cabin if the roof sprinkler was running.
I chose the roof top after watching a video presentation of a blackened forest with a cabin still standing with a green circle around it.
Once we are evacuated, we have no control over the structure protection unit's decisions, but if the sprinkler is there, they may use it.
As noted in the article below, a sprinkler does not negate the need for FireSmart work.
Structure protection folks in 2021 were quoted as saying we can't save this place - too many trees, and the houses are too close together.
Will a rooftop sprinkler protect my home from wildfire?
Is it appropriate for your property? Where will the water come from?
Could it affect water available for emergency response?
Is it installed and used correctly?