'The air is like fire': B.C. village breaks Canada's all-time heat record for 3rd day in a row

Lytton, B.C. -

The village of Lytton, B.C., has broken the record for hottest temperature in Canada for the third straight day in a row.

Environment Canada said the Lytton climate station registered a 49.6 C on Tuesday, shattering the previous records of 47.9 C and 46.1 recorded on the previous two days.

“The air is like fire,” said Sergiou Riverso who was visiting Lytton from the Vancouver-area.

“It’s pretty crazy hot,” said Lytton resident Erin Aleck.

“As soon as you come outside, it’s like a punch in the throat,” she said.

By late afternoon, the streets in Lytton were virtually deserted as people sought shelter from the suffocating temperatures.

“A lot of the elders are suffering because it’s too hot and makes it worse when they don’t have an air conditioner,” one resident told CTV News Vancouver.

“If it keeps up like this, fires are going to get worse,” he added.

An out-of-control wildfire is burning on a mountainside near Lytton and the smoke is visible from the community.

The George Road Wildfire is 350 hectares.

“The danger rating in the Kamloops fire centre is high to extreme which is because of this hot and dry weather so obviously that means we're at a high or extreme risk of fire which poses an obvious threat to spreading growth,” said Madison Smith, a fire information officer for BC Wildfire Service.

The heat is also taking a toll on firefighters.

“Our fire crews are working in some steep terrain, working really hard… so the crews have been told to take more frequent breaks meaning every 30-60 minutes, try to find some shade if possible, obviously drink a lot of water,” Smith said.

She says there is some increased safety awareness and first aid plans if heat exhaustion occurs.

Firefighters weren’t the only ones working outdoors today. CTV met a crew cleaning up branches and trimming

“It’s a scorcher,” one of them said.

His colleague, Charles Adams said the key is to drink lots of water and take breaks.

Meanwhile, Erin Aleck says it has been so hot in town, she thought she’d experiment with an egg in a pan left in the sun.

When she checked on it about an hour-and-a-half later, it was cooked.

“Stay inside, drink lots of water. Now is the time to check on each other, care for each other because that is pretty hard core,” she said referring to the cooked egg. 

At 4:20pm, Lytton Climate Station reported 49.5°C, once again, breaking the daily and all-time temperature records for the 3rd straight day. Final numbers and all other temperature records will be posted later this afternoon. #BCStorm pic.twitter.com/jYpvxM0iIy

— ECCC Weather British Columbia (@ECCCWeatherBC) June 29, 2021