Residents in Lytton are still being left surrounded by rubble and debris following devastating wildfires in 2021. (CFJC News)

By Sydney Chisholm (CFJC Kamloops)

Lytton residents growing impatient as rebuild drags

Jan 25, 2023 | 9:13 AM

LYTTON, B.C. – Empty lots and piles of rubble line Fraser Street in the Village of Lytton.

A year-and-a-half after Lytton was lost in a devastating wildfire and only a handful of residents are back living in town.

Most of the debris has been cleared and preparation work has started but the village is still a long way away from rebuilding.

“I think, as we speak, they’re pressurizing the water pipes and checking the sewer lines. I don’t believe they were affected terribly by the fire but those things need to be in place before rebuilding starts,” Lytton Mayor Denise O’Connor told CFJC Today.

Following the fire, federal government officials promised $77 million to rebuild Lytton as a net zero, fire-resistant community. However, residents have yet to see the cheque and O’Connor doesn’t see that as realistic.

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“We certainly heard that right after the fire — and in the months following — how Lytton was going to become a model community and net zero community, a place for the world to look to,” O’Connor told CFJC News. “And I know I was one who is strongly opposed to that message, saying, ‘Why aren’t we looking after the people?’ Our insurance policies, of course, don’t cover that.”

The provincial opposition believes the NDP government isn’t doing enough for Lytton.

“If [the provincial government wants] to try and have this enhanced building, that’s one thing. But to have that as a goal with no significant dollars attached to it, that’s a problem,” said Peter Milobar, B.C. Liberal finance critic.

The mayor said some residents have already had building plans approved, but still, there is no definitive date for when the village will be ready for construction.

“Most recently we’ve heard, possibly, maybe, late spring — which, you know, April,” O’Connor said.

With many insurance companies imposing a two-year rebuild deadline, the clock is ticking.

The longer the rebuild takes, the greater the risk of former residents moving away and choosing not to return to Lytton.

“Best case scenario, everything is ready in March. As far as coming back, the best case would be for everybody to return, but sadly I don’t believe that’s gonna happen,” O’Connor said.