Martha Van Dyke of Lytton stands outside of her car after a wildfire that raged through her town and forced residents to evacuate, outside of Lytton, British Columbia, Canada, 1 July 2021. Photo: Jennifer Gauthier / REUTERS
Martha Van Dyke of Lytton stands outside of her car after a wildfire that raged through her town and forced residents to evacuate, outside of Lytton, British Columbia, Canada, 1 July 2021. Photo: Jennifer Gauthier / REUTERS

9 July 2021 (CBC News) – Residents of the B.C. village virtually destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire last week will be allowed to survey the damage for the first time Friday as part of a bus tour.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District organized the tour of Lytton to allow residents to see the aftermath of the fire and get a sense of what remains.

The fire swept through the area on June 30, leaving residents with just minutes to flee. Residents scattered in the hurried evacuation will join the tour from various locations across the province.

Chloe Ross boarded a charter bus from Kamloops, B.C., on behalf of her grandmother, who lost her home in the fire. Her parents, who are also from Lytton, did not want to get on the bus.

“We’ve seen the videos, but until you actually see it, it’s hard to believe,” Ross said from the parking lot before boarding.

“It will be really difficult, but I think it’s the right decision for me. I understand why others don’t want to go,” she added. “Nothing about this feels real.”

Aerial view of the charred remnants of homes and buildings in Lytton, B.C. that were destroyed by a wildfire on 30 June 2021. This photo was taken a week later, on 6 July 2021. Photo: Jennifer Gauthier / REUTERS
Aerial view of the charred remnants of homes and buildings in Lytton, B.C. that were destroyed by a wildfire on 30 June 2021. This photo was taken a week later, on 6 July 2021. Photo: Jennifer Gauthier / REUTERS

Ross said her family recognized her grandmother’s neighbourhood in videos as an area that burned down. She said her grandmother escaped with her two cats and her dog, but little else.

The village’s entire downtown core and “most homes” were wiped out by flames, according to the mayor, making the fire one of the most destructive fire-related incidents in B.C. recent memory.

Two people were killed and several others were injured. […]

Wildfires burning across province

There were 210 wildfires burning in B.C. as of Friday morning, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service’s website. More than two dozen of those fires started over the past two days.

Roughly two-thirds of those fires are believed to have been sparked by lightning.

Environment Canada said wildfire smoke is a continuing concern for air quality from southern B.C. through central B.C., with special weather statements in effect for regions from the Fraser Canyon and Thompson-Nicola up to the Bulkley Valley.

Late Thursday, dozens of homes in the Galloway area of B.C.’s East Kootenay region were evacuated for several hours as a wildfire approached a mobile home park. [more]

Residents to tour what’s left of Lytton as wildfires continue to burn across province