The heat is on at Sudbury Beach, and not just on the thermometer. 

Frustrations are simmering at the small beach on Skaha Lake, with some locals and visitors are feeling annoyed at beachgoers who stake their spot, park their chairs and ... leave. 

"They stake it out at 6:30 a.m. and they don't come until 2:30 p.m., so they're taking prime beachfront spots," said Darby, who has been residing in Penticton during the summer for 40 years.

"They're not even there to enjoy it. So then there's people with little kids who have to come later, because the kids are sleeping in later, and there's no more space left on the beach."

Penticton resident Nancy Doak agrees. She visits Skaha on a regular basis with her family, which includes young children.

"People like to come here and not have to find all the chairs and umbrellas set up, and nobody's sitting in the chairs," Doak said. "Children want to play in front of the beach, in the water, and these chairs are parked in front."

A debate on the issue was spawned online earlier this month, when a post in the Penticton Facebook group showed a large array of chairs and umbrellas which had been popping up daily and were often empty. 

There was speculation these chairs belonged to one of the nearby resorts, but they actually belong to a group of family and friends that visit Penticton for several weeks each summer and stay at the campground across the road. 

On Tuesday morning around 10 a.m., one woman and two teens were at the site, and though the woman declined to be named, she said one of the members of her group sets up the array early each morning and takes it down each night, leaving the setup available for any of their group to use throughout the day. 

One of the teens, James, said that while he isn't usually the one who gets up and sets up the chairs, he visits the beach every day.

"If you don't come early, you won't get a spot down on the water," he said. 

There are no official rules for staking out spots on the beach.