# Source note — Bald Range cause rumour source-check

## Social lead
- User supplied: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CxWxYRD1f/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Resolved public URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/betterbc/posts/1578222824030549/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Browser-visible source: BetterBC group repost by Trevor Scott, referencing a post in “The REAL Summerland.”
- The visible post text names a person and alleges that person started the Bald Range fire with firecrackers.

## Publication decision
BCFires is **not republishing the individual’s name** in the public article because, during this check, the named allegation was found only in Facebook/group/social-search snippets, not in an official RCMP, BC Wildfire Service, court, or local-authority source.

## Official/current sources checked
- BC Wildfire Service Bald Range K51490 page: https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/incidents?fireYear=2026&incidentNumber=K51490
- EmergencyInfoBC wildfire page: https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/hazard/wildfire
- Central Okanagan EOC Bald Range page: https://www.coemergency.ca/emergencies/bald-range-wildfire-k51490
- DriveBC Hwy 97 Summerland fire advisory: https://www.drivebc.ca/advisories/hwy97-summerland-fire
- Search checks for RCMP/Summerland/BC Gov/local news references to the alleged firecracker/named-suspect claim.

## What official sources confirm from this check
- BCWS lists Bald Range as Wildfire of Note, Out of Control, fire number K51490.
- BCWS page checked during this build listed 13,618.2 hectares, discovered August 7, 2026, and updated August 9, 2026 at 5:46 p.m. UTC.
- BCWS page listed 4 evacuation alerts and 5 evacuation orders at capture time.
- DriveBC says Highway 97 between Penticton and Peachland/Summerland was closed due to the Summerland-area wildfire and notes the FSR 201 / Highway 33 passenger-vehicle detour.

## What was **not** confirmed
- No official RCMP/BCWS/local-government/court source found in this check that names the person in the Facebook post as the cause of the Bald Range wildfire.
- No official source found in this check that states “firecrackers” caused the Bald Range wildfire.

## Evidence labels
- **Officially confirmed:** Bald Range K51490 status/size/orders/alerts from BCWS and emergency/road context from official pages.
- **Social-media allegation only:** the named-suspect/firecracker claim in the Facebook post.
- **Do not amplify as fact:** the identity of any alleged suspect unless police, investigators or a court records it publicly.