©BC Wildfire Service

There are no timelines available as to when Highway 97 may open between Summerland and Peachland. Hugh Murdoch, incident commander with the BC Wildfire Service, was asked Monday evening about the possibility of reopening the highway. He said the Bald Range wildfire was active on its northeast corner overnight Sunday, near the highway. “I would describe it as an organized flame front, moving in lighter fuels,” he said. “This morning, helicopters were able to get on that and have an impact before they got smoked out, our intention is to have more crews in there again tomorrow morning.” “There are many things beyond fire behavior that will impact when that corridor will be open,” Murdoch continued… “But from the Wildfire Service point of view, we’re doing everything we can in that area to protect that corridor, while also recognizing that the benefit to that is protecting Peachland and not losing focus on other key parts of this fire.”