Wildfire near Lytton, B.C., forces evacuations, scorches four square kilometres

“We are seeing aggressive fire behaviour”, says Erin Catherall, a fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service.

An Emergency Social Services (ESS) Reception Centre has now been set up at the Lytton Parish Hall.

Rosalin Miles is the band administrator for the Lytton First Nation. The fire exhibited Rank 1 and Rank 2 behaviour overnight.

One outbuilding has already been lost to the flames, 16 homes have been evacuated and about 20 more properties from Lytton north to the mouth of the Stein River are on evacuation alert.

KelownaNow will update this story when more information becomes available.

“This aggressive fire behaviour is partially due to the strong winds in the valley”, notes the BC Wildfire Service.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional district says the “wildfire poses an imminent threat to people and property”, and it has issued the alert “due to the potential danger to life and health”.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has placed 20 other properties north of the blaze on evacuation alert as winds of up to 60 kilometres per hour are forecast to buffet the area. Up until that point, there were five homes under evacuation alert by TNRD and nine homes under evacuation order by Lytton First Nation. Registration provides evacuees with food and shelter.

Due to the fire’s aggressive behaviour, fuelled by strong winds, the service can not provide a sure percentage on containment.

The TNRD issued an evacuation alert for residents in Lytton on the west side of the Fraser River from the intersection of Lytton Ferry Rd. and South Spencer Rd, south to the northern boundaries of Lytton IR 25 and Lytton IR 31, including 4279, 4275, 4265, 3960 and 3800 South Spencer Rd.

A total of 44 firefighters, three helicopters and four air tankers are battling the blaze.

The wildfire is zero percent contained, and is believed to have been human caused, but details remain under investigation.