Dozens of homes evacuated as out-of-control wildfire threatens Lytton, B.C.

The residents of 60 properties remain evacuated from their homes on Saturday, as crews battle an out-of-control wildfire burning near Lytton, B.C.

The Saw Creek wildfire was first discovered around 8 p.m. PT on Friday, about three kilometres south of the village, and has since grown to an estimated two square kilometres in size.

It has forced the closure of Highway 1 for about 116 kilometres, between Boston Bar and Cache Creek.

WATCH | Evacuation orders issued due to wildfire near Lytton:

Out-of-control wildfire near Lytton, B.C., triggers evacuation orders

Residents near Lytton, B.C., have been ordered to evacuate as an out-of-control wildfire burns south of the village. The community is still rebuilding after a devastating wildfire destroyed much of Lytton in 2021.

“My understanding is it started on the side of the highway, near a residence, and it spread fairly quickly to the north,” Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) area director Tricia Thorpe told CBC News.

“The community, I think, are probably in a little bit of shock and reeling from it.”

Thorpe said, two orders were issued late Friday by the TNRD — one for the village and another for the electoral area. They apply to properties above the highway, which survived the devastating 2021 fire that razed most of the village.

Around 170 addresses in Lytton, along with some properties in the surrounding areas, are under evacuation alerts and have been told be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

A boil-water advisory is in effect for the village, and Thorpe said the fire has knocked out power to some residents in the area. As of Saturday morning, B.C. Hydro lists two outages affecting 144 customers.

As of Saturday morning, the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said the fire was showing Rank 2 and Rank 3 behaviour, meaning “a low to moderately vigorous surface fire with a moderate rate of spread and occasional candling of trees along the perimeter.”

Sixty-three firefighting personnel were battling the flames, with support of air crews and structure protection teams.

The fire is believed to be human-caused, the label the BCWS applies to any wildfire not started by lightning.

Thorpe said she has been fielding a wave of calls from community members reaching out with information and resources to try and help.

“The things that people can do right now are make sure they’ve got that ‘go bag,’ make sure they’ve got a plan, make sure that they’ve got contacts set up if they do get separated, make sure they’ve got plans for their animals,” she said.

“If you are somewhat in the line of that fire, make sure that you’re doing all those little things that help mitigate the threat of the wildfire: moving your propane tanks, making sure that you don’t have lawn furniture close to your house — those little steps can make a big, big difference in what happens.”

As of Saturday morning there were 16 active wildfires in B.C. — with the Saw Creek wildfire the only “fire of note,” a designation that means it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.

Lytton was all but destroyed and two people died in a wildfire on June 30, 2021, a day after the village hit a new Canadian temperature record of 49.6 C.

Despite more than $140 million in federal and provincial funding, the recovery has been slow, with only a few dozen homes rebuilt. There are currently about 75 residents in the village, which had a population of 210 before the 2021 fire.