Nearly 2 years after B.C. wildfire, Lake Okanagan Resort condo owners still can't rebuild
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Nearly two years after a catastrophic wildfire tore through the Lake Okanagan Resort near West Kelowna, B.C., dozens of homeowners say they've been left in limbo — unable to rebuild and frustrated by what they call a lack of government support.
Before it was destroyed by the McDougall Creek wildfire in August 2023, the 74-acre resort, located about 20 kilometres outside the city, was both a vacation destination and a year-round community.
Several of the buildings on the property were condominiums with dozens of apartments either owned by Lake Okanagan Resort or by individual owners, either as investment properties or, in the case of Maria Hart, her primary residence.
"This was our home... We were a really tight group of people who lived out here year-round," said Hart.
Now Hart and other condo owners say they are stuck and unable to rebuild until basic utilities like water and electricity, which the resort provided to their buildings before the fire, are restored to the property.
"It seems a bit like we're forgotten," Hart said.
Lake Okanagan Resort was purchased in 2014 by a group of Chinese investors and is owned by a Richmond-based company named DHI Holdings Inc.
CBC News has made repeated requests to speak with the resort managers and DHI Holdings. None have agreed to an interview.
Today, Lake Okanagan Resort sits eerily quiet. Only one hotel building stands, surrounded by industrial fencing. The fire reduced several other condominium and chalet buildings on the resort property to their foundations.
Unable to get utilities reinstalled
While many other wildfire victims in West Kelowna and the surrounding area have begun rebuilding their homes, Hart and other condo owners are unable to move forward.
"Rebuilding on the site cannot occur until critical infrastructure, including utilities like power, water and sewer, is restored," said a spokesperson for the Regional District of Central Okanagan in a statement to CBC News.
"These utilities are privately owned and operated by Lake Okanagan Resort and regulated by the Province."
Since the fire, the strata council that manages Hart's building has been asking the resort for updates on a rebuild plan. However, according to strata council member Heather Ormiston, the managers with the resort company have shared very little with the strata.
"Extremely frustrating is actually an understatement," said Ormiston. "They seem to use all kinds of stall tactics."
According to Ormiston, the resort stopped responding to the strata's emails and phone calls months ago, leaving her and other condo owners in the dark.
Condo owners call for government action
Ormiston and the strata have lobbied their MLA, the regional district and multiple provincial agencies for help.
The condo owners want government intervention — either by forcing the resort to restore utility services or transferring ownership of water systems to the strata.
"The holdup now is the lack of intervention by the government," said Ormiston.
"It's the government ministries that issued these permits, and yet they're not doing anything to hold these utility owners accountable."
Lake Okanagan Resort is located outside West Kelowna's city boundaries and isn't connected to municipal utilities. According to the province, the resort is considered the public utility provider for water and hydro, and in some cases, sewage treatment for the strata buildings located on the property.
The B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) and the Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship did not agree to interviews with CBC News.
However, in written statements to CBC and in letters to the strata, the government agencies paint a bleak picture of the resort's future.
"Lake Okanagan Resort has indicated that it has no plans to rebuild its wastewater system, and therefore, the extent and timing of future occupancy at the resort is unclear," wrote a spokesperson with the BCUC.
In a letter to the strata last month, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said the province has no authority to force the resort to transfer ownership of its water systems to the strata.
"The issues facing the residents of Lake Okanagan Resort are complicated, as there are multiple services that need to be restored," the letter reads.
"Without confirmation that the resort intends to rebuild the wastewater treatment plant, there are uncertainties as to how many residents will be able to rebuild and return to the area."
'A very complicated situation'
According to Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C., the situation is one of the most complex he's seen.
"This is really the first one in British Columbia that's this extreme," he said.
"Reconstruction in major tragedies is not a quick thing. It can take one, three, even five years."
In a case like this involving multiple strata corporations and a private company, Gioventu said legal action might be the only way forward.
"The quickest way to resolve this may be to get into the Supreme Court of B.C., which has a good track record of resolving strata issues," Gioventu said.
'I feel like I'm in limbo'
In the meantime, Maria Hart and other condo owners are paying mortgages and strata fees on homes that no longer exist.
"I feel like I'm in limbo. I'm not sure if I should try and find another place in Kelowna or if I should go to greener pastures or what I should do," Hart said.
"Friends and family ask me, 'What are your plans?' I don't know. Can I move back into my home? Is it going to be rebuilt … ever? I don't know."
For now, Hart and her neighbours are caught between the hope for a future rebuild and the reality of an uncertain road ahead.
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