State of Local Emergency, Evacuation Orders Near Lytton, BC, Due to Wildfires

A helicopter carrying a water bucket flies past a pyrocumulus cloud, also known as a fire cloud, produced by the Lytton Creek wildfire burning in the mountains above Lytton, B.C., on Aug. 15, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

A southern district in B.C. has declared a state of local emergency and issued evacuation orders due to rapidly spreading wildfires near Lytton, a village devastated by a similar blaze in 2021.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued evacuation orders in the Blue Sky Country region because of the “immediate danger to life safety” caused by two wildfires near the small community, located roughly 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

An evacuation order is in effect for three properties along Highway 12 in the region due to the “out of control” Izman Creek wildfire. The order came into effect at 8 p.m. on July 1, and says anyone in the affected area must leave immediately.

An evacuation alert was issued on July 1 at 8 p.m. for nine properties along Highway 12. The alert advises residents to be prepared to evacuate as necessary.

“Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to an Evacuation Order; however, you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions,” the evacuation alert reads.

Highway 12 was closed in both directions between Lytton and Lillooet as of July 2 around 7:30 a.m. due to the wildfire, a DriveBC map indicated. Only local traffic is allowed.

The Izman Creek wildfire is currently categorized as “out of control,” and spanned 25 hectares in size as of just after midnight on July 2, according to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). An “out of control” designation means the wildfire is spreading or is expected to spread beyond the current boundary.

“This wildfire is displaying Rank 2 and Rank 3 fire behaviour meaning a surface fire with visible, open flame, infrequent candling, and slow to moderate rate of spread,” the fire service said.

BC Wildfire said two initial attack crews and one response officer are currently responding to the wildfire on the ground with support from two helicopters.

An evacuation order is also in effect for two properties in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District on Spencer Road South due to the Nikaia Creek wildfire. The order came into effect on July 1 at 9 a.m., and says anyone in the area must leave immediately.

The Nikaia Creek wildfire, discovered June 30, spanned 5.73 hectares as of 11:30 a.m. on July 2, according to the fire service. The wildfire is currently “being held,” which means it is not projected to spread beyond its current boundary. The fire was deemed “out of control” the day before.

One initial attack crew and one response officer are continuing to respond to the wildfire throughout the day with ground and aerial resources, the fire service said.

There are 480 active wildfires across the country as of July 2, 172 of which are deemed to be “out of control,” according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. B.C. has 80 active wildfires, while Yukon has 86 and Alberta has 75.

This year there have been 2,682 wildfires to date across Canada, which have burned around 4.3 million hectares. Meanwhile last year, there were 2,763 by July 2 and 3,214 at the same time in 2023.

4-Year Anniversary

This week marks the four-year anniversary since a wildfire raged through Lytton, B.C., killing two people, and wiping out much of the village and part of the Lytton First Nation.

The fire ignited on June 30, 2021, and a state of local emergency was declared, following a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 degrees that was set the previous day.

The state of emergency was finally lifted in June 2023, when local officials suggested people could start to rebuild in the coming months, although it was unclear how many would return.

The Village of Lytton and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District filed a lawsuit against the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways and Transport Canada in 2023, alleging that the fire started due to a train passing through Lytton. They said the organizations were negligent to let trains pass through the town during the heatwave.

The British Columbia Supreme Court refused to certify the class-action lawsuit, but allowed for an amended claim, which could keep the lawsuit alive. The cause of the 2021 wildfire remains undetermined.

A report by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction indicated the root cause of the fire was “easily ignitable structures and homes, and not just a wildfire problem,” and that even the best possible fire response would have been “overwhelmed” since at least 20 buildings were fully engulfed within 80 minutes and would have required at least 60 fire trucks to contain.

The report suggested mandatory mowing of tall grass and weeds around residential areas and evacuation routes, and development changes like minimum distances between buildings, to mitigate wildfire risk.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.