While this year’s wildfires are still a distance away from Summerland, the community has battled fires in past years.
In August, 1996, the Giant’s Head Fire destroyed 60 hectares on Giant’s Head Mountain. Around 20 homes were evacuated during that fire.
Fire chief Glenn Noble said wildfires in the Logie Road area and in the Canyonview Road area in recent years have threatened properties in the area.
Crews are prepared for other wildfires this year.
“Everyone from the U.S. border to the Yukon is at an extreme fire risk right now,” Noble said.
The recent fires in Summerland have been much smaller than the massive wildfires now burning near Princeton and in the Cariboo and Chilcotin regions. The fire north of Princeton is at more than 2,700 hectares, while another fire near the Ashcroft Reserve is at 4,200 hectares.
Noble said there are neighbourhoods, roads and green spaces between forested areas and the community of Summerland.
Elsewhere in the province, forests come up to municipal boundaries, resulting in an increased risk of wildfires affecting communities.