What you need to know about B.C. wildfires on Aug. 11

BCWS anticipates more lightning-caused fire starts in days ahead

Evacuation orders remain in place for the Bald Range fire near Summerland, which has burned 156 square kilometres as of Tuesday.

Penticton RCMP have confirmed at least one person died as a result of the fire. Police said the 80-year-old woman "died suddenly" while trying to flee the fire with her family.

B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) incident commander Hugh Murdoch says crews have been working overnight and their numbers will continue to grow, with 100 Mexican firefighters joining Tuesday morning and the Canadian military on standby.

The scale of the damage to Summerland and surrounding areas is still unknown.

Officials have said that the municipality's downtown was spared, but outlying areas, particularly two adjacent valleys, were impacted.

“There are other neighbourhoods where you might have two houses that burned down and the one next door is fine," Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes told CBC News on Monday.

"There is a lot of uncertainty."

On Monday, Summerland district's chief administrative officer Graham Statt said planning re-entry of residents is "well underway" and will be a phased process.

RCMP continue to investigate the cause of the Bald Range fire, but are urging the public not to speculate.

Growth expected on Brunswick Complex

The Ainslie Creek wildfire, one of two that make up the Brunswick Complex near Boston Bar, continues to grow along its northeast and southeast corners, and has scorched 541 square kilometres.

The wildfire service says the northeast section of the wildfire is spotting towards Highway 8, which could result in its closure. The southeast finger remains about 11 kilometres from Highway 5.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District expanded an evacuation order due to the fire on Monday night to cover 188 more properties.

The wildfire service is warning there is a "high potential" for new fires to start as a result of dry lighting in the central Interior and Okanagan.

It said "elevated temperatures and heightened wind gust" in the Okanagan and southeastern B.C. could also increase fire behaviour.

A number of evacuation orders and alerts were downgraded for the massive 1,447-square-kilometre Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton on Monday, but the wildfire service still expects growth on two neighbouring fires.

The 444-square-kilometre French Bar Creek wildfire continues to grow, "driven by dense fuels and terrain," and the BCWS says it could merge with the adjacent 278-square-kilometre Bonanza Creek wildfire amid continued warm and dry conditions.

As of Monday, there were roughly 21,400 people on evacuation order across B.C., more than 12,000 of them from Summerland.

Many of them have found shelter in Penticton.

Summerland evacuees seek refuge in Penticton

Summerland's mayor urged residents to remain patient and to support neighbours who have lost homes, acknowledging "it's going to be really hard."

"We can't lose sight of who we are. We need to keep helping each other," Holmes said. "And when we do get back, we need to brace ourselves for what's there or what's not there."

On Monday, the province announced it had secured a block of 1,000 hotel rooms to help house evacuees.

About 11,000 people are under evacuation alert.

Arden McLeod, from Vancouver, is an associate producer with CBC News. He has a passion for community storytelling, local news, and reflecting the values of B.C. He graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology's broadcast and online journalism program. You can reach him at Arden.McLeod@cbc.ca.

With files from Kevin Maimann and Simon Little