90% of Lytton, B.C., destroyed by fire

With the heatwave up here, wildfire season's kicked off pretty hard this year. As of right now, according to the BC Wildfire service, there's currently 472 active wildfires in the province.

The sky is quite hazy and grey today from the smoke.

But, about 250km north east of Vancouver, the town of Lytton has nearly completely burned down. About 90% of the town is gone.







www.cbc.ca...

Dozens of families forced to flee their homes as fire raced through a small B.C. village Wednesday are now working to find loved ones scattered in the evacuations, as emergency officials urgently try to account for everybody in the community.

People living in Lytton, B.C., about 260 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, were forced to leave with little notice Wednesday, racing out of town in every direction as smoke and flames swallowed the community in minutes.

According to the local member of parliament, at least 90 per cent of the village was destroyed.

Mayor Jan Polderman signed the official evacuation order at 6 p.m. PT, Wednesday. He said the village was overcome by flames before officials had the chance to co-ordinate a place for people to go, so many just started driving.

"The town burnt down," Polderman said, his voice hoarse as he spoke from a family member's home in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Thursday.

"I noticed some white smoke at the south end of town and within 15 to 20 minutes, the whole town was engulfed in flame."

The community of Lillooet, north of Lytton, took in dozens of evacuees through the evening. A district representative said Thursday they had an official count of 188 people, but the number was likely higher as many evacuees had not formally registered.

Other evacuees sought refuge in the nearby community of Boston Bar. Fifty-two people went to the reception centre in Merritt to the east.

a reply to: dug88

It appears the person taking the video in the car has a death wish.

This hits close to home. AZ has been ablaze for weeks. They shut down all the national parks. No tourists. 2020 and 2021 can suck a fat one!

I missed this OP, I did include a bit of info in the hot weather in PNW thread. I feel for the people in Lytton.

This is going to be a problematic summer.

Wow! That's terrible!!

a reply to: dug88

It looks like another bad fire summer for western Canada.

I’m hoping that this heat here in Alberta doesn’t end with t-storms and lightning but it likely will.

So far Doug, we are just seeing deep red sunsets from all of the smoke from your area. Soon we will get the smoke and contribute to it with our own fires I fear.

We have had a few fires already including Catholic Churches but not looking good for the rest of the summer.

Sprinklers systems. They've been around for decades.

a reply to: dug88

That's devastating, I know we had our own issues last summer, seems this summer is going to more of the same.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Sprinklers systems. They've been around for decades.

Which tree in the forest should we put them on?

a reply to: DBCowboy

Yeah, I remember last year everywhere burned pretty hard from BC and Alaska all the way down to California. There was a few weeks the smoke was so bad you couldn't see more than a block ahead of you if that.

I've just been hoping maybe July will bring some clouds and rain.

a reply to: dug88

That brings very bad flashbacks of Paradise, CA a few years ago.

I visited B.C. once as a young teen decades ago, remember it as the most beautiful green place I'd ever seen. Total heaven!

So sad!

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Sprinklers systems. They've been around for decades.

Really?

Despite the record breaking heat wave, the statewide fire warnings, the towns burnt to the ground last year, in my town 4th of July celebrants are lining up at the fireworks kiosks as usual.

originally posted by: SeaWorthy

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Sprinklers systems. They've been around for decades.

Which tree in the forest should we put them on?

Ya, that was the "winner of the day" post. We just need a worldwide grid of sprinkler systems over ever forest on the earth..problem solved!!

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
Despite the record breaking heat wave, the statewide fire warnings, the towns burnt to the ground last year, in my town 4th of July celebrants are lining up at the fireworks kiosks as usual.

It's Canada day here..and it is super quiet, startlingly so. They kind of kiboshed it anyway, out of respect for the natives, and all the bodies coming to surface via residential schools.

a reply to: dug88

Feeling for those who lost their homes and loved ones.

Couldn't imagine living through that.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Sprinklers systems. They've been around for decades.

This has to be the most moronic comment I've ever heard on these boards.

That is saying a lot....

LMAO: There are trees in BC that you could literally build a subdivision of houses out of. The amount of wilderness in BC is the equivalent of the size of most large countries.

Don't think sprinklers will cut it....smh

a reply to: dug88

This is heart breaking. I hope everyone Is safe and get back on their feet soon. Prayers.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Sprinklers systems. They've been around for decades.

What an overwhelmingly ignorant , ill-informed and pathetic comment. Literally THE dumbest I've ever read on here in 9 years.

originally posted by: Mantiss2021
a reply to: dug88

That brings very bad flashbacks of Paradise, CA a few years ago.

I visited B.C. once as a young teen decades ago, remember it as the most beautiful green place I'd ever seen. Total heaven!

So sad!

Yes, the conditions are actually quite similar. You had multiple days of hot, dry weather that makes all the fuel highly combustible, followed by winds moving at 40 mph or more. If you get an ignition source under those conditions there is no technology that can stop the resulting fire storm. It just moves way too fast to respond to.

Just devastating. Lytton had back to back to back breaking heat record, topping 121f. Everything's drying up. 😪