THE LATEST:

• The mayor of Summerland says the Bald Range wildfire is growing away from his community — but any re-entry of residents would take place in stages.
• Highway 97 between Penticton and Peachland, through Summerland, reopened in a limited fashion on Thursday.
• The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says that over 100 wildfires continue to burn throughout the province.
• On Thursday morning, the province said there were roughly 18,900 people under evacuation order and roughly 10,000 more on evacuation alert across B.C.

Pleas for patience near Bald Range fire

The Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) is pleading for patience from residents forced to flee their homes due to the Bald Range wildfire.

It grew by seven square kilometres between Wednesday and Thursday, according to the BCWS, and covered an area of 191 square kilometres as of Thursday morning.

While the RDCO says some of the thousands of evacuees from the fire may not see significant fire activity near their communities, that could change rapidly.

“The Bald Range [wildfire] remains a dynamic and challenging incident, with fire activity continuing on multiple flanks of the wildfire under extreme drought conditions and very dry fuels,” the regional district said in a Thursday evening update.

WATCH | Summerland evacuees helped by faith organizations:

Faith organizations step in to support Summerland evacuees

Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said district officials had finalized much of their re-entry plans, and evacuees would return in a staged fashion once the BCWS gives the all-clear.

“The good thing for Summerland is that it’s kind of moving away from the town,” he said of the fire on Thursday evening.

“Not so good for the people who live in the direction that the fire is moving — but for us, it’s a good development.”

Premier David Eby had previously said specialized search-and-rescue crews are being deployed to conduct damage assessments, which are also underway in the area of the Quilpituk Creek fire in the Okanagan.

There are more than 100 wildfires burning in B.C. as of Thursday night, and wildfire activity remains concentrated in the southern half of the province.

The largest wildfire remains the Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton, which covered an area of 1,574 square kilometres as of Thursday night.

In the Fraser Canyon, the Brunswick Creek fire complex around Boston Bar covered an area of more than 700 square kilometres.

Highways and air quality

Highway 97 reopened Thursday with limited daytime hours, according to DriveBC, though officials say highway conditions are subject to change with little warning and stopping isn’t allowed.

The stretch between Peachland and the Pyramid Picnic Area in Kickininee Provincial Park had been closed due to the Bald Range wildfire.

Other closures to Highway 1 north of Hope and Highway 97 north of Cache Creek remain in place.

Air quality warnings were in place for many parts of southern B.C. on Thursday night, with warnings of high health risk due to wildfire smoke.