The main street through Lytton showing blue fence boundary.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Denise O'Connor
January 13, 2022 - 7:30 AM
It has been six months since wildfire almost completely destroyed the Village of Lytton, and it still remains very much like a ghost town.
There is no mail service, no road clearing and no rebuilding happening.
Resident Denise O’Connor grew up in Lytton and recently retired from being a principal at the local school. She said she and other residents are frustrated and angry at the lack of progress that has been made in the village since the Lytton Creek fire, June 30. An odd assortment of structures and services are in place.
READ MORE: 90% of Lytton destroyed by fire, injuries reported
“My house burned down but I’m staying in another one that my family owns that survived the fire,” she said. “There are about 30 houses within the Village boundaries that are still standing. We have sewer and hydro, everything except Telus landlines.”
O’Connor said two gas stations remain intact where she can purchase gas and food items. One school survived and one motel. She said residents are eager to start rebuilding their homes, but there are barriers.
“The whole town is blocked off with high blue fences and security is set up at access points,” she said. “We are told there are hazards and toxins so we can’t go to our properties. For a brief time I was allowed to go and sift through the ash and found some broken pottery.”
O’Connor said the roads are not being plowed and the town’s plow and sander burned up, along with the public works building and municipal buildings.
“We had a lot of snow fall,” she said. “We are lucky that members of Lytton First Nation come out to help clear the roads every so often.”
The remains of Lytton resident Denise O'Connor's house after the Lytton Creek fire destroyed the town on June 30, 2021.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Denise O'Connor
Jan Polderman is the mayor of Lytton.
“There is three feet of snow on the ground, the access roads in and out of town are washed out and the rebuild is on hold,” he said. “There was a six week delay while the Heritage Branch and First Nations were planning out the debris removal process. When they came to an agreement it got cold and everything froze solid.”
Polderman said the greatest need to help move forward is getting more funding from the province.
“Because our village is very small and has limited resources, we are depending on the province to help,” he said. “Every week the village doesn’t proceed with the rebuild, the bills amount to $100,000.”
Polderman said he is waiting on some political decisions to be made before the debris can be removed. After that, plans and agreements around rebuilding will be formed.
READ MORE: Residential property values plunged most in Lytton at -23%
Many Lytton residents remain spread out, living in surrounding towns and cities, waiting to come home.
O’Connor said when the debris cleanup happens it will be done in three phases. Metal will be removed first, followed by ash and toxic soil and lastly the house foundations will be removed.
“That is when Heritage B.C. will do archaeological assessments,” she said. “We likely won’t start rebuilding until September. My property looks very much like it did weeks after the fire, as do all of the properties, homes and businesses that burned.”
O’Connor and five other volunteers have opened a resiliency centre in a school room as a supportive place for the people in the village, surrounding reserves and ranches to gather.
“I am very grateful for the friendships and connections I’ve made with so many others,” she said. “There is so much work to be done and much healing is needed for the residents of Lytton. Right now there is not a lot going on that gives us hope or a way to move forward.”
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