BC Government news release: Province providing support for Summerland region to ensure accommodation, supports available

Details from this Government of BC news release:

Summary

• More than 1,000 hotel rooms are available now in the Okanagan for wildfire evacuees, with more blocks booked as accommodation becomes available
• A surge in staff capacity at the BC Evacuee Helpline is supporting faster call times and Emergency Support Services registration, with identity verification requests processed as they come in

The Province is working with local partners to surge supports into the Penticton area to support people evacuated due to the Bald Range wildfire.

Accommodations for evacuees

To date, the Province has block booked more than 1,000 hotel rooms in Penticton, Kelowna and West Kelowna, which are available for evacuees.

Group lodging is also available in communities throughout the Okanagan with nearly 1,000 beds set up.

Those needing assistance to find an available hotel room or a referral to group lodging are encouraged to visit a reception centre at:

• Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, 273 Power St., Penticton
• Westbank Lions Community Hall, 2466 Main St., West Kelowna

The Province is working with the tourism and hospitality sector, the federal government and other partners to secure additional accommodation, and is booking additional hotel rooms as they become available, thanks to people changing their travel plans to support evacuees.

The Province continues to ask anyone who is evacuated and able to stay with friends and family to do so.

BC Evacuee Helpline

Over the weekend of Aug. 8-9, 2026, the BC Evacuee Helpline had a record number of calls from evacuees needing support. ServiceBC, which operates the BC Evacuee Helpline, has increased staff capacity twenty-fold to ensure that all evacuees are receiving support as quickly as possible. This includes staff to support with BC Services Card identity verification so that evacuees can register for Emergency Support Services (ESS) online.

All outstanding requests for verification have been cleared. Requests are now being processed as they come in. Mobile ServiceBC Centre units have been deployed to Penticton and Kelowna to further support with identity verification.

People can reach the BC Evacuee Helpline at 1-800-387-4258.

Local support

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness continues to provide and arrange mutual aid support. Thirteen emergency support services staff and volunteers have been deployed to provide support to the local reception center and evacuees in Penticton.

The ministry also continues to send emergency management staff to Penticton to support local Emergency Support Services, as well as early recovery and emergency operations.

Learn More:

• To register with Emergency Support Services, visit: https://ess.gov.bc.ca/
• For the latest information about evacuation alerts and evacuation orders in B.C., visit: https://EmergencyInfoBC.ca
  Or follow @EmergencyInfoBC on X and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmergencyInfoBC/
• To prepare travel plans, visit: https://www.travel-british-columbia.com/know-before-you-travel-in-british-columbia/
• For up-to-date information about road conditions, visit: https://www.drivebc.ca/
• For BC Wildfire Service information and updates, visit: https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/dashboard