'We have that resilience and we are strong': Special ceremony marks 1 year since devastating Lytton fire
'We have that resilience and we are strong': Special ceremony marks 1 year since devastating Lytton fire
LYTTON, B.C. -
Scattered in the rubble are reminders of a community that used to be.
Thousands of tonnes of debris has been removed from what was Lytton, but the clearing of properties does not erase the memories of what happened here one year ago, when the village turned into a raging inferno.
“I heard the explosions and it was just like balls of fire … It was like a horror movie,” said Edith Loring-Kuhanga, a Lytton resident.
“Gas tanks and propane tanks just blowing off, a sound I won’t forget,” recalled evacuee Jeff Chapman, whose parents died in the fire.
Lytton Mayor Jan Polderman said: “It happened in a couple hours. This entire town burned down.”
The cause remains undetermined and a police investigation is ongoing.
June 30 marks one year since the fire. Residents came together Thursday for a special ceremony acknowledging the sombre anniversary. A time capsule, with stories and pictures from residents of what happened, was buried. The capsule will be reopened in 30 years.
Tricia Thorpe was among those who attended the event.
“I think the past year has physically changed people. The stress, the uncertainty, the lack of progress,” she said.
Her husband, Don Glasgow, agrees. It’s been a tough, stress-filled year.
“A rollercoaster year. Slides, washouts, the fire, and my heart attack didn’t help either,” he said.
They live on the outskirts of town and are the only residents who have been able to rebuild.
“I sometimes feel guilty that we’ve got our own place and nobody has anything. It’s not right,” said an emotional Glasgow.
The mayor worries some businesses will be unable to return. Same with residents.
“Either because the job of rebuilding is overwhelming or they don’t have the funds to rebuild,” he explained.
He wants to build a community that is as fire-resistant as possible.
“You have to put a fire-resilient exterior onto your house so if there’s an ember shower, your house doesn’t catch fire.”
But residents are more focused on coming home.
“(Elected officials are) so intent on making a model village or putting in solar sidewalks that they’ve forgotten the most important element of a community and that is its people. People just want to come home,” said Thorpe.
There are some signs of progress in Lytton. A community internet company on Thursday became the first to reopen office space after its building burned in the fire. The new location is above the village and outside the evacuation zone.
The mayor said it’s been a year of learning as they work to rebuild an entire community.
“The lesson learned is this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, and the complexity of the rebuild is far greater than most people realize, including myself,” Polderman said.
Meanwhile, residents are findings glimmers of hope despite the devastation.
“We have that resilience and we are strong,” said Loring-Kuhanga.
A year ago today, fire burned down most of Lytton. The devastation still evident everywhere. Today evacuees are gathering to support each other. @CTVVancouver pic.twitter.com/RnvKYHc5bA
An Amber Alert issued on Monday for two Saskatchewan children has been extended into South Dakota. Saskatchewan RCMP say evidence uncovered during their investigation suggests the children may be in the U.S. state.
The man who claims to be one of the people seen 'surfing' on the roof of a moving subway train in Toronto is speaking exclusively to CTV News about his stunts and the looming threat of a police arrest.
The FBI's unprecedented search of former president Donald Trump's Florida residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department – notably cautious under Attorney General Merrick Garland – decided to take such a drastic step.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Expressing concerns over the RCMP's yearslong use of spyware in major investigations, privacy and civil liberties experts say the previously undisclosed tools are 'extremely intrusive' and they are calling for stronger oversight and regulation of spyware Canada-wide.
The detention and alleged beating by Quebec police of a Senegalese diplomat last week came as a bailiff was attempting to seize property at her residence to pay for a judgment against her.
Five unions representing more than 5,000 UVic staff have reignited a petition asking the university to reconsider a planned change from annual to monthly parking passes.
An elementary school teacher in the Greater Victoria School District had his teaching certificate permanently banned after being convicted of possessing child pornography.
It's been to Niagara Falls, the Kentucky Derby, tossed off a balcony and guest starred on Howard Stern. It's even been to Innisfail. But Tuesday around 6 p.m., the Cup had a truly Calgarian experience when it floated down the Bow River.
Animal rescue groups that find Calgary foster placements and forever homes for dogs from international countries say a new federal ban importing dogs from a list of countries as a control measure against rabies unfairly hurts groups trying to help dogs.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
A prominent American ballerina and her husband have withdrawn a claim that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz paid for sex with an underage dancer several years ago, saying they have since learned she was 18 at the time.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
An Ontario woman says she was scammed out of $11,000 after months spent working with a Texas psychic she met on TikTok following the death of her stepfather.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
The amount of money Quebec has spent on private health-care workers has quadrupled in the last five years as it continues to deal with a worker shortage made worse by the pandemic.
Queen Mary Road in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood is about to get four kilometres of reserved bus and taxi lanes which the city says will save commuters six minutes and 40 seconds of precious travel time.
An Amber Alert issued on Monday for two Saskatchewan children has been extended into South Dakota. Saskatchewan RCMP say evidence uncovered during their investigation suggests the children may be in the U.S. state.
The body of a 71-year-old Regina man who went missing while swimming at Pelican Pointe on Last Mountain Lake, Sask. has been recovered, according to RCMP.
The reopening of a Newfoundland highway that had been closed for days because of raging wildfires provided hope Tuesday that much-needed supplies would finally arrive in stranded communities along the island's south coast.
“I thought I was going to die,” recalls Clara Sorrenti. “As soon as I saw the rifle I screamed.” On August 5, the popular transgender activist and streamer on the website Twitch was awakened by heavily armed officers from the London Police Service at her downtown residence.
Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) is a non-profit organization run by and for people who have experienced mental health challenges and illness.
The Hollinger Golf Club in Timmins is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It was on Aug. 9, 1922, when the club took over the nine-hole course from the Hollinger Mine, who built it in 1919 as a way to attract people to the city.
St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener has added a touchscreen self-check-in kiosk into its emergency department. in hopes of streamlining patients through the triage system.
