Nearly 2 years after B.C. wildfire, Lake Okanagan Resort condo owners still can't rebuild

Brady Strachan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Nearly 2 years aft a catastrophic wildfire tore done the Lake Okanagan Resort adjacent West Kelowna, B.C., dozens of homeowners accidental they've been near successful limbo — incapable to rebuild and frustrated by what they telephone a deficiency of authorities support.

Before it was destroyed by the McDougall Creek wildfire successful August 2023, the 74-acre resort, located astir 20 kilometres extracurricular the city, was some a abrogation destination and a year-round community.

Several of the buildings connected the spot were condominiums with dozens of apartments either owned by Lake Okanagan Resort oregon by idiosyncratic owners, either arsenic concern properties or, in the lawsuit of Maria Hart, her superior residence. 

• Lake Okanagan Resort among properties destroyed successful West Kelowna wildfire
• Evacuees instrumentality to areas adjacent West Kelowna destroyed by McDougall Creek wildfire

"This was our home... We were a truly choky radical of radical who lived retired present year-round," said Hart.

Now Hart and different condo owners accidental they are stuck and incapable to rebuild until basal utilities similar h2o and electricity, which the edifice provided to their buildings earlier the fire, are restored to the property.

"It seems a spot similar we're forgotten," Hart said. 

Lake Okanagan Resort was purchased successful 2014 by a radical of Chinese investors and is owned by a Richmond-based institution named DHI Holdings Inc. 

CBC News has made repeated requests to talk with the edifice managers and DHI Holdings. None person agreed to an interview.

Today, Lake Okanagan Resort sits eerily quiet. Only one hotel gathering stands, surrounded by concern fencing. The occurrence reduced respective different condominium and chalet buildings on the edifice spot to their foundations.

Unable to get utilities reinstalled 

While galore different wildfire victims successful West Kelowna and the surrounding country person begun rebuilding their homes, Hart and different condo owners are incapable to determination forward. 

"Rebuilding connected the tract cannot hap until captious infrastructure, including utilities similar power, h2o and sewer, is restored," said a spokesperson for the Regional District of Central Okanagan in a connection to CBC News.  

"These utilities are privately owned and operated by Lake Okanagan Resort and regulated by the Province."

Since the fire, the strata assembly that manages Hart's gathering has been asking the edifice for updates connected a rebuild plan. However, according to strata assembly subordinate Heather Ormiston, the managers with the edifice institution person shared precise small with the strata.  

"Extremely frustrating is really an understatement," said Ormiston. "They seem to usage each kinds of stall tactics."

According to Ormiston, the edifice stopped responding to the strata's emails and telephone calls months ago, leaving her and different condo owners successful the dark.

Condo owners telephone for authorities action

Ormiston and the strata have lobbied their MLA, the determination district and aggregate provincial agencies for help. 

The condo owners privation authorities involution — either by forcing the edifice to reconstruct inferior services oregon transferring ownership of h2o systems to the strata.

"The holdup present is the deficiency of involution by the government," said Ormiston.

"It's the authorities ministries that issued these permits, and yet they're not doing thing to clasp these inferior owners accountable."

• Report into destructive 2023 Okanagan wildfires details however occurrence spread

Lake Okanagan Resort is located extracurricular West Kelowna's metropolis boundaries and isn't connected to municipal utilities. According to the province, the edifice is considered the nationalist inferior supplier for h2o and hydro, and successful immoderate cases, sewage attraction for the strata buildings located connected the property.

The B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) and the Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship did not hold to interviews with CBC News.

However, successful written statements to CBC and successful letters to the strata, the government agencies overgarment a bleak representation of the resort's future.

"Lake Okanagan Resort has indicated that it has nary plans to rebuild its wastewater system, and therefore, the grade and timing of aboriginal occupancy astatine the edifice is unclear," wrote a spokesperson with the BCUC.  

In a missive to the strata past month, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said the state has nary authorization to unit the edifice to transportation ownership of its h2o systems to the strata.

"The issues facing the residents of Lake Okanagan Resort are complicated, arsenic determination are aggregate services that request to beryllium restored," the missive reads.

"Without confirmation that the edifice intends to rebuild the wastewater attraction plant, determination are uncertainties arsenic to however galore residents volition beryllium capable to rebuild and instrumentality to the area."

'A precise analyzable situation'

According to Tony Gioventu, enforcement manager of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C., the concern is 1 of the astir analyzable he's seen.

"This is truly the archetypal 1 successful British Columbia that's this extreme," helium said.

"Reconstruction successful large tragedies is not a speedy thing. It tin instrumentality one, three, adjacent 5 years."

• 2023 is present officially the astir expensive, astir destructive wildfire play connected grounds successful B.C.

In a lawsuit similar this involving aggregate strata corporations and a backstage company, Gioventu said ineligible enactment mightiness beryllium the lone mode forward.