Provincial officials say they’re hopeful firefighting efforts will protect Lytton, B.C., from a nearby out-of-control wildfire, as the small village continues to rebuild from the destructive 2021 blaze.
The Cantilever Bar wildfire, discovered on Monday, is now 1.5 square kilometres in size and has resulted in evacuation alerts from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, the Lytton First Nation and the Skuppah Indian Band, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS).
The BCWS says the fire was discovered burning about 10 kilometres south of Lytton, on the west side of the Fraser River. It’s suspected to be human-caused, a broad category that includes all fires not sparked by lightning.
Video posted online from early Tuesday morning appears to show the fire burning in the hills and down to the Fraser River.
On Tuesday, provincial officials spoke about the fire at a news conference meant to update the wildfire threat and drought facing the province.
“Deep concern,” said Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar about the wildfire burning close to the village, considering the area’s history and propensity as B.C.’s perennial hot spot. On Monday, high temperatures were around 35 C. Environment Canada has issued a heat warning.
“I think there’s an awful lot of work that has been done over the course of the last number of years in wildfire mitigation work,” he said.
“But there were reports of ashes falling in Lytton last night … and so for those that have been working hard to rebuild their homes, those who are looking to continue to come home over the next number of years, certainly a lot of concerns that I can imagine that they’re facing.”
Tricia Thorpe, the area director for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, said the fire is close to hydropower lines and near the Siska train bridges, where CN and CP cross over the Fraser River. She said Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern have their fire train stationed there now.
She also said debris was falling from the fire.
“I know that there was debris falling last night. I talked to the [Lytton] Pines Motel. They had chunks of ash falling,” she said. “And I swear I saw some ash falling up here before we went to check on the fire last night.”
We are responding to the Cantilever Bar wildfire (K71095), approximately 10 km south of Lytton, on the west side of the Fraser River. This wildfire is currently estimated to be 150 hectares in size. Learn more: <a href=”https://t.co/XiCEPDcZNd”>https://t.co/XiCEPDcZNd</a> <a href=”https://t.co/Z4D8jdeAsd”>pic.twitter.com/Z4D8jdeAsd</a>
Thorpe said it’s the fourth fire in the area in the past four weeks, and is causing smoky conditions. She hopes a burn scar from a 2015 fire north of the current one slows its growth.
The BCWS has 24 firefighters responding to the fire. They are being supported by three helicopters and structure protection firefighters.
Cliff Chapman, the BCWS’s director of wildfire operations, said firefighters were facing challenges due to the steep terrain where the fire is burning, along with coping with high temperatures and wind.
“So tactically and operationally, yes, we are concerned,” he said. “We feel confident that we have the right number of resources on that fire.
“But obviously, as the minister mentioned, with ash falling in the village last night, it’s a very scary fire for the community, and our people are part of that. And they are showing up, you know, last night, through the night, last night and today to do everything we can to try to catch that fire at its current size.”
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It’s been four years since a fast-moving wildfire destroyed the village of Lytton and killed two people on June 30, 2021.
The fire burned down about 90 per cent of the village, as well as buildings in the nearby Lytton First Nation.
The B.C. Wildfire Service says there are about 60 active wildfires across the province, with out-of-control blazes reported in the Fraser Canyon, the Rockies near Jasper National Park and the northeastern corner of B.C.
The service says there are above-seasonal temperatures and the risk of dry lightning forecast across almost all of the province this week, which could increase the probability of new fires, despite anticipated low winds.
