'They fled in all directions,' says Lytton, B.C., mayor as residents remain unaccounted for
Residents 'overwhelmed by the obstacles or the future they face': mayor
The mayor of Lytton, B.C., says the full toll of a wildfire that levelled the town won't be known for several days more.
Some residents of the town of about 250 remain unaccounted for, according to Mayor Jan Polderman.
"There were a lot of elderly people in town and some of them didn't have transportation, and I'm concerned about how they made it out of town," he told Day 6 guest host Saroja Coelho.
Conditions in the town, located 260 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, were dangerously hot, dry and windy on Wednesday, when the wildfire tore through.
Lytton, which recorded a high of 49.6 C on Tuesday, broke records three days in a row for the hottest place in Canada as an unprecedented heat wave continues to smother much of Western Canada.
Polderman spoke with Day 6 about the fast-moving wildfire and what's next. Here is part of that conversation.
Mayor Polderman, how are you holding up?
It's been a busy time trying to arrange all the emergency services for the citizens that have been forced to flee.
Ninety per cent of the community is reported to be gone at this point. Are you able to wrap your mind around that yet?
I've seen the pictures, so yes. Now, as you know, it's time to look at providing services and accommodation and all the basic services that are needed for people to survive. After that, we need to rebuild very quickly so people have something to come back to.
I want to get an idea of what your town is like. Could you describe the community for us?
Our town was a historic town. It was located at the junction of two rivers and we had a large Indigenous population. It had a large percentage of senior citizens. And for those people, it's going to be — you know, they're overwhelmed by the obstacles or the future they face.
I know that communication has been very challenging all week. What are you hearing from your constituents about how they are right now?
I'm hearing very little. People left, they fled in all directions. So we're asking everyone to check in with the emergency services and B.C. [government] so that we can try and account for all the inhabitants.
As you try to figure out where everybody is — I understand there are people who are considered to be missing at this point — are you anticipating casualties?
Yes.
WATCH | CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe explains wildfires' 'blowtorch' effect on Lytton
How soon do you think that you'll know about that casualty list?
I'm expecting that over the next three or four days. Yesterday, I mean, the houses were just red hot cinders on the ground still.
It'll take a bit of time for the debris to cool off, and then I'm assuming that specialized teams of people will look through it to see if they can locate people.
How are you feeling as you as you try to come to terms with that idea?
I am overwhelmed and, at times, the emotion is overcoming.
Are there people in your own world, in your particular family and your group of friends that you're very concerned about right now?
No. Most of my family lives in the Lower Mainland. My close family members, I'm not worried about them. There were a lot of elderly people in town and some of them didn't have transportation, and I'm concerned about how they made it out of town.
There was fires spotted and within 25 minutes, the entire town was engulfed in flame along with the [Lytton First Nation] at the north end of our town.
I drove through it and, you know, the structures were engulfed in flames everywhere. The fire just seemed to have started. And then no sooner had it started, like I said, I mean, from one end of town to the other, there was just fires everywhere.
By the time I had driven through town [and] turned around to go to the south end of town, the fire had jumped the highway and I needed a police escort to go back to the south end of town. It was that quick.
And do you have any sense about when you might be able to return to Lytton and see what has become of your own home in your community?
When the highway opens up, as soon as the highway opens up, I'll be returning to town. And I'm not sure when that is, when that's going to happen.
When I spoke to [B.C. wildfire technician Scott] Rennick, who leads the fire fighters, he was talking four, five days.
Written by Jason Vermes. Produced by Sameer Chhabra. This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.
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