Disaster Date:06/30/2021
Lytton, BC
Fires
What Happened
On June 30, 2021 a wildfire swept through the Village of Lytton, destroying more than 90% of the town and killing two people. The fire wiped out the town’s infrastructure including the fire hall, police station, grocery stores, restaurants, town hall and records, museum, and approximately 100 homes. Quite miraculously, St. Barnabas Church, Rectory and Parish Hall survived the fire.
What MDS Is Doing
MDS BC Unit members visited the town site within a few months of the fire. Over the past 2 years, MDS volunteers have attended the Lytton Unmet Needs Committee meetings and 34 months after the fire, we have finally obtained a building permit for a house build.
Volunteers will be working on building a new 2-bedroom MDS design house.
Scheduling of weekly volunteers will begin in April.
Location
Lytton is located at intersection of the Thompson River and the Fraser River. During the summer months, the temperatures can skyrocket, as was the case for the 2021 fire, recording a record heat of 49 degrees. Because of high temperatures, MDS build site will take a break during the hottest months, in regard to volunteer safety and health.
MDS Canada’s response in Lytton is taking place on Nlaka’pamux, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Nlaka’pamux Nation.