A Lake Okanagan Resort (LOR) homeowner is pushing the provincial housing minister to “show up” for the community.
Nearly two years after the McDougall Creek wildfire tore through the resort, residents like Heather Ormiston say they are still stuck—unable to rebuild, unable to return, and unable to get answers from the resort’s ownership or the provincial government.
“We’re not asking for special treatment—we just want to restore our homes,” Ormiston said.
The fire destroyed most of the resort’s infrastructure in August 2023, including water and sewer systems owned and operated by LOR. The resort is owned by DHi Holdings Inc., a company based in Richmond. A group of Chinese investors acquired the resort in 2014.
“They’re doing everything in their power to not have to move forward with restoring that water utility,” Ormiston said. “For the majority of the last two years, they have ignored our emails. And when push comes to shove and they do respond, it’s either lies, it’s stall tactics, or it’s inflated estimates.”
Ormiston cited one early claim from the company—that the fire had destroyed the water plant—which she said turned out to be false.
“We insisted on doing a visual inspection,” she said. “The water treatment plant wasn’t even touched by the fire. It’s in pristine shape.”
With no clear plan from the resort owner, residents say their only path forward is to create a solution themselves.
“We came up with this viable solution for us to go it alone,” Ormiston said. “Be independent of LOR.”
She and her neighbours, who make up the 99-unit Strata KAS 520—49 of which are still owned by LOR—are now proposing to build an independent water treatment facility, with plans to hand over its operation to the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO). An architect is working on the plans and has agreed to attend a meeting with residents, and area politicians to present the proposal and discuss possible disaster relief funding.
The proposed system would only serve residents of Strata KAS 520, which has the advantage of owning the land surrounding its building—a benefit not shared by other stratas at the resort.
Ormiston said frustrated homeowners approached Victoria for help, only to be told it’s a private legal matter. She flatly disagrees. Since the province issues and licenses water utilities, she argues, it retains oversight responsibility.
“This is a provincial government issue,” she said. “For the government to try to wash its hands of the problem and force citizens into litigation is abandonment on the provincial government’s part.”
In a statement to Black Press Media, Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon acknowledged the difficult circumstances.
“I recognize that this is a challenging situation and my hope is that everyone involved can work together to resolve the issue,” he said. “Unfortunately, this may need to be done through the courts. In this case, an overseas owner has control, and we don’t have the ability to intervene from the province.”
In the same statement, a Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship spokesperson explained that LOR residents have been told that they have options. They can ask their local government to provide water or apply for their own water licence to draw directly from the lake, avoiding the resort’s private utility.
A cost estimate for a new system has been shared, but it could be expensive due to a smaller customer base.
Ormiston maintains the province has a responsibility to homeowners, who have gained support from RDCO director Wayne Carson, MP Dan Albas, and MLA Macklin McCall for their proposed independent system. The only person still missing from the conversation, she says, is B.C.’s Housing Minister.
“Where’s our housing minister?” she asked. “He’s a huge voice to advocate for us.”
She believes that, if support and approvals do come through soon, rebuilding could begin quickly.
“Within a year, absolutely,” she said.
Black Press Media contacted a DHi Holdings representative for comment but has yet to receive a response.
