Lillooet (British Columbia): A wildfire that forced people to flee a small town in British Columbia that had set record high temperatures for Canada on three consecutive days burned out of control Thursday as relatives desperately sought information on evacuees. The roughly 1,000 residents of Lytton had to abandon their homes with just a few minutes notice Wednesday evening, after searing the previous day under a record high of 121.2 F (49.6 C).
The province’s public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said Thursday afternoon that most homes and buildings in Lytton had been destroyed and some residents were unaccounted for. The British Columbia Wildfire Service said the Lytton blaze was raging out of control over an area spanning roughly 80 square kilometres (30 square miles). Several other fires were burning in the region as a heatwave baked western Canada.
Lytton city council member Lilliane Graie, on behalf of Mayor Jan Polderman, said in an email Thursday that the fire had devastated the town, a village about 153 kilometres (95 miles) northeast of Vancouver. “Our people are scattered north and south and we are trying to establish who is where,” she wrote. At least some of the people who fled Lytton came to a recreational centre in Lillooet, a town about 63 kilometres (40 miles) to the north.
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John Haugen, a deputy chief with the Lytton First Nation, said leaders were trying to account for members who did not get to Lillooet. “It’s incomprehensible, people are so anxious and worried about what comes next for them,” he said, saying the community had suffered tremendous “devastation and loss.” Rosanna Stamberg, who lives in Enderby, said she was trying to track down her son and daughter, Alfred and Marjorie Nelson, who live about 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the centre of Lytton.
“I don’t know which direction they went. I don’t know if they went down towards Chilliwack. I don’t know if they went to Lillooet. I don’t know if they went to Spencer’s Bridge or Merritt or Kamloops. I have no idea,” she said in a phone interview. “Or if they stayed home.” She said the lack of cellphone service had prevented her from contacting them. “I’m very worried,” she said.
In a television appearance, British Columbia Premier John Horgan, said: “Three consecutive days of the highest recorded temperature in Canadian history all happened in Lytton this week. To have a heatwave and a horrific fire is so troubling and so challenging for the people of this community.” The heat in Lytton set its first national record on Sunday, reaching 115 F (45.1 C), then set another new high Monday, at 118.2 F (47.9 C). After yet another record high Tuesday, the heat eased to 102 degrees F (39 C) on Wednesday.