Canada heatwave: Lytton resident reveals horrific scenes as wildfires ripped through town

Around 1,000 residents of Lytton, Canada, had to abandon their homes with just a few minutes notice after suffering the previous day under a record high of 49.6 Celsius. According to Independent media outlet, Pierre Quevillon, a Lytton resident, said that nine-foot-high flames were lapping his home when he bundled his two dogs into his truck in a bid to flee the town. Quevillon even ran back inside his home to rescue his cats, however, when he returned to his truck he found it already engulfed in flames, with dogs inside. 

With no choice, Quevillon fled the town on foot with his cat in his arms. “I ran towards the town and the fire was pretty much following me,” he said. Quevillon added that in about 15 minutes, the whole town was gone. He is one of an estimated 1,000 residents of Lytton, British Columbia, who were forced to leave their homes behind and flee to neighbouring towns after wildfires razed much of the small Canadian town. 

Quevillon’s home was also reportedly one of the first to go up in flames on Wednesday after the town’s mayor issued an immediate evacuation order. “The only thing left to burn was me,” Quevillon said after escaping the wildfires. He revealed that a passing driver picked him up and took him to a nearby hill, where the fire had already torn through. Quevillon said that he watched the town burn below him, which was a “hard sight” for him. 

Canada heatwave 

As per reports, the BC Coroners Service has said it has received reports of two deaths related to the blaze, and many are missing. Officials on Friday even hunted for any missing residents of the British Columbia town. They said that it was unclear whether anyone remained in the village due to lack of cell service and because it wasn’t safe to enter most of the area. 

“We do know there are some people who are unaccounted for,” said Mike Farnworth, the province’s public safety minister, though he said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Red Cross were working to locate people. In Ottawa, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau pledged that the federal government will “help rebuild and help people come through this”. He said that he had spoken with British Columbia Premier John Horgan and John Haugen, acting chief of the Lytton First Nation and planned to convene an emergency response group.

Lytton evacuees, on the other hand, were trickling in to the evacuation centre, some with carloads of children and pets, desperate for a place to stay. Evacuees were then being offered hotel rooms, however, due to the number of wildfires in the area and the lack of accommodation, many towns were now reportedly full. The Wildfire Service said at least 106 fires were burning across the province, including dozens that started within just the past two days. Fires near Kamloops, a larger town just north of Lytton, forced the evacuation of dozens of homes late on Friday.

(With inputs from AP)