B.C. three weeks ahead of schedule in wildfire activity; two reported deaths in Lytton

LYTTON (NEWS 1130) – There are reports of at least two people killed in the wildfire that forced the evacuation of the entire village of Lytton Wednesday, as officials say the heatwave pushed the province three weeks ahead of schedule for wildfire activity.

“It’s early July now. For comparison sake, 2017, which was obviously another devastating year for the province of B.C. and wildfires, the fires didn’t start until July 7 and … we didn’t hit that 100,000-hectare mark until mid-July. So we are certainly ahead of schedule,” said Cliff Chapman with the B.C. Wildfire Service.

He tells us about 79,000 hectares have been burned so far.

“That number is likely to go up today. We’ll probably be close to 100,000 hectares through the weekend. For the time of year, it is high. It is above our 10-year average,” Chapman said.

There are about 1,700 BC Wildfire Service crews dispatched across B.C. Including support teams from other agencies, there are a total of up to 3,000 crews battling fires.

Q: how many fire crews battling fires throughout province?
-1700 via wildfire service
-Others who are contracted from communities
-Rough estimate total fighting: 2500-3K who are working on fires today

— Ria Renouf (@riarenouf) July 2, 2021

Meanwhile, Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says there are preliminary reports of two fire-related deaths in the Lytton Creek wildfire.

“We have sent a coroner’s team. They are standing by. It’s not safe to enter the area and once they receive the approval to go to the site, they will do that. They will conduct an investigation, and at that point, we’ll be able to confirm, officially, whether or not there are fatalities although we do believe there are two,” she said.

The area is still under an evacuation order.

A number of people remain unaccounted for, as the wildfire in the Lytton area continues to burn.

Residents were forced to drop everything and leave at a moment’s notice as the flames quickly approached, ultimately destroying 90 per cent of the village, burning down the majority of homes and buildings in the community.

Related articles:

• PM promises support for Lytton wildfire evacuees

• Delta firefighters deployed to help wildfire-ravaged Lytton

• Lytton wildfire evacuees search for loved ones as many remain unaccounted for

• Lightning risk increases chance of more wildfires in B.C.

The Canadian Red Cross says if you need help finding loved ones who were in the Lytton area, you should call the organization’s Family Reunification line at 1-800-863-6582. That line is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says they have plans to do a grid search of the area, “but at this point it just isn’t feasible for us to get into the area.”

In the meantime, police are enforcing roadblocks to keep people at a safe distance.

“We ask that you respect those roadblocks and respect that the area, which is still subject to an evacuation order. We’re as anxious as the rest of the community, to get in there but … public safety is our priority.”

More than 1,000 homes under evacuation order

Province-wide, there are 136 wildfires burning, nine of which are classified as “wildfires of note,” defined by the province as wildfires that are “highly visible or which pose a potential threat to public safety.”

More than 1,000 homes are under evacuation order.

-Expecting more wildfires b/c of the lightning, more lightning expected in the SE corner of the province (Interior)
-Heat dome pushed up temps, really set up the conditions for the forest and fuel, followed by lightning…obviously led to significant fire activity. #bcwildfire

— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) July 2, 2021

Officials are expecting B.C. wildfire activity to pick up further, with even more lightning expected in the Interior.

Chapman says his organization is working with the federal government on getting military resources to B.C. to help.

“We want to start with aviation resources, in the interest of people and equipment-moving machines. Whether that includes the Hercules aircraft, as well as some additonal medium and heavy-lift helicopters … it’s really about resource mobilization for BC Wildfire Service and any of our assisting and partner agencies,” he said.

When fires are spreading this quickly, Chapman points out they need to be able to move people and gear faster than highway driving can take them there.

“In terms of crew resources, right now, we feel we’ve got the ground personnel that can safely execute on the fires that we have currently burning. As the weather hopefully changes and we’re able to attack those fires more directly, that’s when we’ll be looking at additional ground resources,” he added.

But Chapman says they will be looking to other provincial fire departments before turning to the military.

“Because they’re trained fire-fighting resources much like the province of B.C. and BC Wildfire Service. So, as more resources become available from the eastern provinces, which it sounds like they may, that would be where we’d like to get the resources from first,” he explained.

With files from Paul James