An announcement is expected Thursday from investigators looking into whether the wildfire that devastated the Village of Lytton was sparked by a passing train.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it will release its investigative findings at 10 a.m. on Thursday, followed by a news conference an hour later.
Just before 5 p.m. on June 30, a fire was sparked near Lytton. The blaze moved quickly toward the townsite, eventually burning many buildings and homes — an estimated 90 per cent of the community's structures.
“Initial investigations conducted by the RCMP and BC Wildfire Service into the fire’s ignition point raised concerns regarding the potential involvement of a freight train,” the TSB said earlier in a statement regarding its investigation, which began on July 9.
The Interior had been experiencing record heat for days prior to the fire. In Lytton, an Environment Canada weather station recorded a temperature of 49.4 C the day before the fire, according to the TSB.
The TSB said previously the investigation would involve locomotive inspections.