B.C. wildfire evacuees told to brace for devastation, as RCMP launch criminal probe

By Brenna Owen Heartbroken Okanagan-area officials have told wildfire evacuees to prepare themselves for the level of destruction left by a deadly blaze in B.C.’s southern Interior that police say has triggered a criminal investigation. The out-of-control Bald Range fire is on the outskirts of Summerland, whose mayor told the community’s 12,000 residents they would not be returning to their homes on the shores of Okanagan Lake any time soon. “We need to brace ourselves for what’s there or what’s not there,” said Doug Holmes, his voice shaking with emotion at a briefing in nearby Penticton on Monday evening. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be really hard. We all know people right now who have lost homes. We all have friends who have lost homes and those…

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