The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says 28 homes and one commercial property in the Monte Lake and Paxton Valley areas has been destroyed or heavily damaged by the White Rock Lake Fire.

In all, there are 282 properties are in the area, with TNRD spokesperson Andrew Roebbelen giving credit to BC Wildfire Crews for preventing damage from being more widespread.

“I have spoken with some members of our team that went went through there. And yeah, there definitely was a lot of damage but BC Wildfire crew did a great job of protecting many of the structures down there,” he told NL News.

“When we did our run-through of the area…significant loss through through that community, not just along the highway but along the back roads as well.”

Roebbelen says it is too early to put a dollar value on the losses at this time. Earlier this month, initial estimates pegged the insured losses in the Village of Lytton, which burned down on June 30, at $78 million.

“That’s going to be the responsibility of the insurance adjusters to go through appraisals and then figure out the value of. Not only the primary structure is but secondary structure, and and other losses such as fencing, and those tertiary structures,” Roebbelen added.

Some of the affected residents are now able to return to their properties to start the rebuilding process after evacuation orders were downgraded to alerts Friday night.

“This is the time for those particularly along the Highway 97 corridor to get back in and and begin those first steps in and rebuilding or coming back to their structures,” he added.

“There are a number of homes that are still standing and the general stores are still standing. So people can, when they feel safe, start moving back into the area while still staying on alert. With winds and weather conditions being unpredictable as they are, we are keeping them on alert, but feel it’s safe enough for them to be able to access the area.”

Anyone who’s been impacted by the fire can access the TNRD’s Resiliency Centre located at the Northills Mall in Kamloops.

“Just seeing chatter on social media and stuff, this is a close-knit community and they will come together and absolutely support each other through the, the cleanup and rebuilding process and the TNRD wants to help them through that as well,” Roebbelen said.

“Our hearts go out to all the individuals and residents through that area. We understand how difficult of a time this is and we do want to support them anyway we can.”

For the latest on evacuation orders and alerts in the TNRD, go here.

– With files from Kirk Fraser and Amanda Thode