Evacuation are set to be issued near Lytton, B.C., due to a wildfire, according to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD). Evacuation alerts are also in place for residents of Lytton as well as some members of the Lytton First Nation due to the Saw Creek wildfire. The fire is burning around three kilometres south of the village, leading to the closure of Highway 1 nearby. In a post on social media, the TNRD said a formal evacuation order will be issued for residents of Electoral
Area I, covering an area just southeast of the village of Lytton. Shae Stearns, a fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, said just before 8 p.m. PT that the fire was burning over an area of 100 hectares close to the highway and nearby structures. “Hot and dry conditions have been present throughout the day and throughout the past couple days,” she said. “So it has made fuels highly susceptible to ignition. So we are expecting additional growth on that size as well.”
Stearns said that the fire is suspected to have been caused by human activity. An evacuation alert has been issued for residents of Lytton, as well as for residents of the Lytton First Nation north of the Klahkamich 17 reserve. Evacuation alerts say residents should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, but are not evacuation orders, which mean residents should leave immediately. Stearns said that aerial resources were helping ground crews battling the fire on Friday night, with structure protection specialists also pressed
into action. DriveBC said that Highway 1 was closed in both directions just after 6 p.m. PT between Ashcroft and Boston Bar due to the fire. Commuters have been told to take the Coquihalla Highway or Highway 97C as alternate routes. DriveBC said there was no estimated reopening time for the stretch of Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon, as of 9 p.m. PT on Friday. The Village of Lytton was all but destroyed in a June 2021 wildfire that was sparked amid record heat.
Rebuilding progress has been slow in the village in the years since. As of 9:30 p.m. PT, there were 16 active wildfires in B.C. — with the Saw Creek wildfire the only “fire of note,” a designation which means it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety. The B.C. Wildfire Service said in a Thursday update that the central and southern portions of the province are set to be hot and dry over the weekend, with wind expected on Friday and Saturday.
“The northern half of the province will experience some precipitation and some cooling this weekend, but on Sunday, temperatures will rise again province-wide,” the update reads.
Lytton, B.C., Saw Creek wildfire, evacuation order, evacuation alert, Highway 1 closure, Thompson-Nicola Regional District, B.C. Wildfire Service, Shae Stearns, DriveBC, Fraser Canyon
Wait so is Highway 1 closed permanently now??
Wildfire by Lytton again… like how do they even rebuild if it just comes back every year. Also why is it always “human activity suspected” like cmon, be specific.
Evacuation alert means “leave immediately” right? My cousin said alerts are basically orders so if it says alert you should just go. Either way Highway 1 being shut is scary, that’s the main road.
Saw Creek… isn’t that the one that got everyone talking after 2021? I remember Lytton being like totally gone, and then they act surprised again. 100 hectares near the highway seems small but somehow it’s already threatening structures?? wind + dry = nope. I’d take 97C even if they don’t know when 1 reopens.