Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Nanette Phillips-Smith
June 30, 2021 - 7:08 PM
The entire Village of Lytton is being evacuated.
Mayor Jan Polder ordered the evacuation of roughly 250 people at 6:53 p.m.
"A fire event located within the Village of Lytton is threatening structures and the safety of residents within the municipality," he said in a news release.
"It's dire. The whole town is on fire," Polderman told CBC News. "It took like a whole 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to all of a sudden there being fire everywhere."
Multiple unverified social media posts suggest the fire is already in the village.
Lytton, 167 kilometres west of Kamloops, broke Canada-wide temperature records amid the heat wave this week.
It's unclear if the fire was the nearby Sparks Lake wildfire or a new fire. B.C. Wildfire reported around 6 p.m. the fire had grown to 4,000 hectares.
Anyone in the area is to leave and report to McArthur Island Sports Centre parking lot at 1655 Island Parkway in Kamloops, according to the regional district. Evacuees are to remain in or around their vehicle when they arrive, but they can self-register for Emergency Support Services here.
Kevin GoForth has been a resident of the Lytton and Lillooett areas his whole life. He says he is devastated by the recent news of the fire in Lytton where many of his friends and relations live. He says the two communities are about 45 kms apart and very interconnected.
"My son-in-law was in Lytton when the fire started," GoForth said. "He just barely had time to get his landlady out before the fire was at the house.... This is tragic. I hope everyone is getting out safely."
Earlier this evening, the Thompson Nicola Regional District expanded evacuation orders in electoral areas E and J. Find those here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Marshall Jones or call 250-718-2724 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021