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Lytton evacuees describe terrifying scenes witnessed while leaving their home community

Coroner investigating deaths

UPDATE 2:26 p.m.

British Columbia's chief coroner says preliminary reports suggest two people died as a result of the wildfire that ravaged the village of Lytton, B.C.

Lisa Lapointe told a news conference today that the reports have yet to be officially confirmed.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says numerous hazards are still preventing the Mounties from accessing the Lytton area to search for an unknown number of people who remain unaccounted for.


UPDATE 1:55 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's meeting today with federal ministers to discuss the government's response to wildfires that have devastated the village of Lytton and surrounding First Nation communities in British Columbia's Interior.

Trudeau told a news conference the incident response meeting will also look at what is expected to be a very hot, dry summer with many wildfires.

He says he's spoken with B.C. Premier John Horgan and Lytton First Nation Deputy Chief John Haugen, and will also speak with Lytton Mayor Jan Polderman.

Trudeau says the federal government stands with the people of Lytton to rebuild.

The search continues for multiple residents, but Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth hasn't said how many people from the area are unaccounted for.

Farnworth has said it's been hard to keep tabs on where everyone ended up, given the urgent nature of Wednesday evening's evacuation.

Details about conditions in the village are scant because it's not safe to enter the area, the RCMP said, but aerial photos show that numerous buildings and vehicles have been destroyed.

The Mounties have said they would begin searching for missing or injured people as soon as it's safe to do so.

Telus Corp. said Friday it has deployed emergency communications equipment to support local authorities and emergency crews dealing with the wildfire.

Telus is the main wireless provider for the Lytton area and B.C. officials have said a lack of cell service has made it difficult to determine if anyone remains in the village.

The company set up a mobile cell tower at about 6 p.m. Thursday to provide temporary service in the area after the fire disabled two of its towers, Telus spokeswoman Liz Sauve said.

The roughly 1,000 people who managed to flee to safety when the emergency evacuation order was issued will find very little left when they return, Farnworth said.

Troy Clifford, president of the union representing ambulance workers in B.C., said Lytton had one ambulance and a station, both of which were lost in the fire.

The village has a rotating staff of 25 to 30, and all paramedics out of Lytton are accounted for, he added.

The Lytton Creek wildfire that burned the village was still listed as out of control on Friday morning and was about 64 square kilometres in size.

-with files from Canadian Press


UPDATE 1:33 p.m.

The government press conference has still not begun but CTV News Vancouver is reporting that

The two deaths due to the Lytton fire are now being investigated by the BC Coroner Service.

"Coroners were enroute to the area this morning after being approved for access," the statement said. "However, it appears the area is still unsafe to attend."

The coroner's update comes less than 48 hours after the fire broke out in the small village.

-with files from CTV News Vancouver


UPDATE 12:12 p.m.

For the second day in a row government officials have called another press conference to update citizens about the devastating wildfire situation in the province.

Officials from the BC Wildfire Service, Emergency Management BC, RCMP and public health will provide an update on the current wildfire situation in B.C.

The Lytton Creek wildfire is still classified as Out of Control and has reached 6,400 hectares as the weather to date has been unprecedented with temperatures hitting the mid-40's C. Conditions remain hot dry and windy and further growth is expected.

The TELUS team continues to work closely with local authorities and emergency crews in response to the Lytton wildfire.

"To support, we have brought in additional equipment by helicopter and as of 6 p.m. on July 1, our cell tower on wheels (COW) was operational and is providing temporary wireless coverage for emergency responders in Lytton, enabling crews to communicate as we work to restore cell coverage in the area," says Liz Sauvé with TELUS Public Relations.

Sauve says TELUS has also deployed SmartHubs, satellite phones, hundreds of additional cell phones and charging cables, and comfort kits with necessities like toothbrushes and hand sanitizer to support emergency responders and evacuees.

"We have suspended home service billing indefinitely and are waiving wireless overages throughout the month of July for all evacuated customers," Sauve says.


ORIGINAL 4:00 a.m.

Evacuees from Lytton are sharing harrowing tales of escaping their home community Wednesday as a fast-moving fire tore through the village — many unsure whether their homes are still standing.

“Up until yesterday I had a home in Lytton,” David Harrison told Castanet on Thursday outside an evacuee centre in Merritt.

“We haven’t seen it but we’re pretty sure that it’s burned. Our fifth-wheel trailer was parked in town, too, and we’re pretty sure it’s toast.”

Harrison described a scary scene. He said he was extinguishing a number of small fires on his property before becoming overwhelmed by a larger blaze.

Harrison said he stopped trying to fight the flames after he saw the power lines burn off of a nearby hydro pole.

“I had the fires put out that were around our house, and then the big fire came,” he said. “So we’re here.”

Many Lytton residents are under the impression their community suffered significant damage in the fire. Some estimates are that 90 per cent of structures in the village were burned.

“It’s a tragedy. Apparently there’s very few buildings left standing in Lytton. We’re not the only ones that are homeless — there’s a great many people,” he said.

“It’s a tragic situation.”

Fabian Duncan, another evacuee, told Castanet he was working near the train bridge when the fire started.

“Me and my partner were working, and the train went by, and then ‘boom’. All the smoke went up, and we got out of there,” Duncan said.

He said they were initially sent to the Lytton muster station, but as the fire tore through the village, everyone gathered there had to move on.

Duncan said he didn’t have time to grab any of his things before leaving town.

“We just grabbed baby food and our kids and loaded them up, and we were heading to Lillooett.”

Robert Leitch, a Lytton councillor, said that fires have always been a concern for the village, but the record-breaking heat over the past few days made the situation much worse.

“It just dried everything out. It just took one spark, and a gust of wind. Lytton always has winds, so it just would move something from one end of town to the other.”

Leitch said he had only 15 minutes to evacuate, but he was able to gather his essential, valuable items quickly, having them ready to go due to the nearby George Road wildfire that has been burning since mid-June.

“It’s just grabbing clothes and a few other things, like wallets and stuff like that, because that’s all that you have time to do, is just get everything in the truck. Try and see if you can knock on a few doors and then you’re out of town.”

Leitch said as he drove out of Lytton, there was fire “all over the place.”

“It basically moved from one of the street down to the other end within minutes,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know if his house is still standing.

“To be honest, it’s hard sleeping now because you just replay everything that went through, and that’s just really hard.”



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