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The Bald Range fire near Summerland forced thousands of people to flee their homes on Friday night as the fast-moving wildfire grew rapidly.
Evacuations out of Summerland included a large population of senior citizens living in residential care.
Several health teams co-ordinated efforts to keep the residents safe from the wildfire and relocate them to appropriate care facilities.
David Hickey, a driver with the High Acuity Response Team, helped receive dozens of evacuees at Kaigo Senior Living Facility in Kelowna.
He told Global News that the group worked quickly to get a new wing ready and staffed to take on more people.
“It was a fast-moving situation, fast-moving fire,” he said.
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“And again, I can’t imagine the situation they were in. And then once Highway 97 closed, they had to be rerouted all the way through Princeton back down through Osoyoos, that area and come back 33. For those familiar with that, that’s up by Big White and they had to come back in through the city.
“So I believe it was a four- or five-hour transport as opposed to a direct route coming from Summerland to Kelowna, which would have been less than 45 minutes.”
Hickey said most of the evacuees seemed in good spirits on Saturday morning when they had time to settle in.
“I think everybody was in shock just because of how quickly this happened,” he added.
“And you’re never fully prepared to be evacuated. You know, you’re either put on standby, or you’re told it could happen, but once it happens … you know, all bets are off and you just act.”
Interior Health said it was relocating 48 residents from the Dr. Andrew Pavilion in Summerland and working with its contracted partner Retirement Concepts to relocate 190 residents from Summerland Seniors Village.
Hickey said everyone came together to make sure the residents were safely moved out of the area.
“I saw people posting, if you’re not in the Okanagan right now and you plan on coming, probably stay away,” he said.
“I’ve talked to first responders and the bus drivers and the best thing you can do right now is just stay out of the way and let the people who need to do their jobs do it. That’s what I would say for anybody wondering what’s going on and stay safe.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
