Thursday July 1, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
In light of the sudden impact of wildfire on an entire town in the BC Interior, today on Canada Day, Premier John Horgan and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth spoke at an unexpected media availability at 1 pm today.
Of course, Canada Day is usually a day off for all Canadians, and it’s statutory holiday for government staff. Horgan thanked government staff for coming into the legislative buildings to make the session possible, and he also thanked media who have covered this high-profile news today.
After record-breaking temperatures in the town of Lytton (a location receives incoming sweeping heat from the Alberta prairies) during the recent heat dome event that occurred June 26 through 29 (peak temperature of 49.6°C for that town and for all of Canada on June 29), an uncontrollable sweep of fire raged through the town last night. An immediate evacuation was called by the town’s mayor; people had to leave without time to gather up anything in the way of supplies, records or memories.
Today Premier Horgan acknowledged Village of Lytton Mayor Jan Polderman for his fast action to order full evacuation of the town. Horgan says the Lytton mayor was “traumatized at how quickly this happened”.
Looking at previous Google Earth photos of Main Street compared to what the scene looks like today should ‘tell the story’, said Horgan in the media session this afternoon. He said the number of buildings lost is substantial, and that the village “has been devastated”.
BC Emergency and Wildfire staff explained more details about the impacts of the fire, including that the police and ambulance buildings were lost to fire. In which case (based on the map and reports of how the fire travelled) probably also means that the museum and town archives, the Chinese history museum, elementary school, pharmacy, cafe, market, and other basic services have been impacted or destroyed.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said today that the fire through Lytton “has been catastrophic for this community”. He says that “most homes” were lost and offered his condolences to the entire community.
Horgan says that the BC government will help the town rebuild, and that (after speaking with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning) the federal government will also be on board to help (including military who are properly trained to help out around firefighting incidents).
Residents headed away in the three possible directions out of town, and are now scattered over the region, staying with friends and family or as otherwise arranged though evacuation centres in Kamloops, Chilliwack, Kelowna and Merritt. Those who fled the town of about 1,000 people are asked to register with the Emergency Management BC service online, so that everyone can be accounted for.
The Village of Lytton sits at the confluence of the Thompson River and Fraser River on the east side of the Fraser. “Lytton’s vibrant community offers year-round recreation, strong cultural roots and agricultural opportunities,” as stated on the town’s website.
Firefighters & neighbourly help:
“There’s nothing more Canadian that offering assistance when neighbours need it,” the Premier said today.
The Premier says that firefighters are bravely fighting the fire. Incident management teams are on the ground. Investigating the cause is underway, though Horgan did acknowledge “anecdotally” that a train passing through the community area just ahead of the fire. Sparks or heat from the train may have caused a fire to be ignited.
Thanks to a lot of rain in northern BC in recent days, firefighting crews are being relocated to the south to help out with the Lytton fire, said government officials today. There are presently 87 active fires in BC, with 62 of those new in the last 24 hours.
Fire risk is considered Extreme in almost every part of BC, said Horgan today. He implored British Columbians to not be the source or cause of any wildfires. In his five years as Premier so far, three of those have had wildfire states of emergency. So far this year, a State of Emergency around wildfires has not yet been called, Minister Farnworth stated.
There were about 29,000 lightning strikes in BC in the last 24 hours. Other than by lightning, most other fires are due to human activity in any given area (including campfires, tossing away cigarette butts, and use of vehicles and ATVs over dry terrain).
Campfires are now banned in BC through into October.
===== LINKS:
Emergency Preparedness, Response & Recovery (Emergency Management BC)
Current Wildfire Reports & Maps (BC Wildfire Service)
