B.C. premier to speak as 'exceptionally dry' conditions challenge wildfire crews

B.C. premier offers condolences to those who've 'lost everything' to wildfires

B.C. premier says lessons to be taken from how quickly wildfire spread

Eby also took a question on how evacuees have been facing challenges registering for and accessing emergency support.

He acknowledged that the current system "isn't perfect" but said the online registry has at least made it so people don't have to attend in person.

"That doesn't mean that there's not a need for it to be 100 times better for the next group that has to face an emergency in our province."

Eby was asked about how some Summerland residents didn't receive an emergency alert on their phones when the wildfire was advancing on their community.

The premier said the phone alerts are just one mechanism officials have in an emergency like this, adding that first responders were on the ground going door to door, urging people to get out.

"We have to use all of these tools to get people out in an emergency situation," he said.

"In this kind of situation, we don't leave it to the phone notifications."

Greene takes a question about delays in informing people about whether their homes have been destroyed.

She said she understands evacuees are "desperate for information" about their homes in the fire zone — but that it's still not safe to access some of those areas yet.

"At this time it's still an active fire zone and we are calling in Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) to assist with rapid damage assessments," she said.

HUSAR is a specialized, multi-disciplinary disaster response team trained to operate in areas affected by structural collapses, earthquakes, floods and severe landslides.

Greene said the province has used HUSAR on previous fires that have created dangerous hazard zones.

She added that notifying people they have lost their homes will be done by district or municipal officials, and must be done sensitively.

"Having that call is one of the most devastating moments of a person's life, and so the last thing I would want is somebody to have the shock of finding out on social media or on television about their home being lost," she said.

B.C. wildfires: Thousands flee Summerland, RCMP confirms death of 80-year-old

RCMP confirms death of 80-year-old as thousands flee Summerland

Reporters asked if officials could provide any more details on the circumstances around the death of an 80-year-old woman during the Bald Range wildfire.

Supt. Beth McAndie, the officer in charge of the Penticton RCMP, said the investigation is still "very much in infancy" in terms of determining the actual cause and nature of the woman's death on Friday.

"As you can imagine, there's an extreme amount of sensitivity that goes along with what we report out to the public," she said, adding that police will be releasing that information in consultation with the B.C. Coroners Service.

McAndie acknowledged that she couldn't provide much new information at this point but said police "are progressing and pushing forward to get answers for this family in particular, which is our priority, and then report out what we can to the community."

Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield says welcoming and comforting a massive wave of evacuees on Friday was "a challenge we were proud to accept."

"To have that number of people coming into a community and into evacuation centres is no small thing," he said.

He said the people of Summerland were friends and neighbours, adding that the municipal boundaries between the communities were "just lines in the mountains."

Bloomfield said staff and volunteers have been working every day to improve services for evacuees and have since expanded comfort centres across the city.

He added that it was a "remarkable feat" that city and regional district staff were stepping up to help when many of them had themselves been evacuated, or even lost their homes.

Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes was just up. He thanked the premier for the province's support, adding that the municipality had a productive meeting with provincial officials where they talked about the challenges Summerland faced evacuating so many people so quickly.

"It's really unprecedented to have that kind of evacuation," he said.

Holmes added that they also talked about the challenges the municipality will need to tackle going forward as they recover from the devastating wildfire.

"This is not something we're gonna be able to do on our own," he said.

"It's gonna be a long, difficult recovery and we'll need the government to be there supporting us."

Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel says the fires B.C. is facing every year have become increasingly volatile and destructive.

He says action is needed to address their root causes.

"Our world is changing at a rapid pace," he said of emergencies in B.C. and elsewhere. "We need to work together, we need to come together and start fixing the problem we created."

"These weather events are not a natural phenomenon. Each and every year we deal with the same situation but we are not making any progress trying to fix these problems."

Gabriel says dealing with the fires means reassessing logging and forestry practices, and addressing ongoing drought.

He says any action needs to involve Indigenous peoples, who have thousands of years of experience.

How the Bald Range fire exploded in just hours

The Bald Range wildfire northwest of Summerland has become one of the most volatile fires B.C. has ever faced. CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe breaks down the unique science behind this explosion, detailing how extreme fuel dryness, pyrocumulonimbus clouds, and shifting evening winds turned the fire into one almost impossible to fight.

Eby is pledging an after-action review (AAR) into the Bald Range fire and emergency response, noting how quickly the situation evolved. In an AAR, agencies involved in the emergency attend a debrief to discuss the response and opportunities to improve in future.

The premier says stories from local government and the wildfire service have been consistent about how fast the fire blew up and threatened the community.

He says the fire's speed meant local government didn't have the "luxury" of issuing evacuation alerts, resulting in a rapid evacuation of large numbers of people.

He acknowledged that meant there was an initial 24-48 hour period with a massive demand for services for evacuees that weren't ready.

"There's an important set of lessons for us to take about how quickly this moved and that this may be our new normal for fire speed," Eby said.

Eby says he spent the day meeting with evacuees from Summerland including a woman who was reunited with her cat, but also people who have "lost everything." He commends the staff and volunteers working to help evacuees, calling them "world class." He tells them that the province stands with the people affected by this fire.

B.C. Premier David Eby offered condolences and praised the work of volunteers at a wildfire update on Wednesday in Penticton, B.C., where many evacuees have fled. He also pledged a review of the emergency response, saying there is 'an important set of lessons to take' about how fast the Bald Range fire blew up and that 'this may be our new normal.'

Eby begins the news conference by acknowledging the work of the "incredible" volunteers who have been helping evacuees navigate this difficult time as well as the emergency service personnel and local leaders "who have responded in this time of crisis for the community."

"The overwhelming spirit here is coming together to support neighbours and friends … and it is highly inspiring and incredibly moving."

Eby also extended his condolences to the loved ones of the 80-year-old woman who died while attempting to flee the Bald Range fire.