It’s been a year since a massive fire ravaged the small southern BC village of litton and neighboring Lytton First Nation.
Looking back, Naikiya Hanna described it as a “fire battle field”. Strong winds propelled flames through homes, businesses and vital infrastructure, burning them to the ground as smoke darkened the sky.
After about 10 minutes, litton first nation The councilor’s cell phone service stalled. He recalled his own fear for everyone’s safety, and the moments of bravery that inspired hope in the midst of disaster.
“Everyone walked the entire community and went door-to-door to pick up people on the outskirts of the village,” Hannah said.
“People were just moving on and on, and everyone was helping.”
The relentless fire killed two people, injured more and displaced hundreds, many of whom are still scattered in hotels, with families, or in the few homes standing in the area.
The stories have highlighted the resilience of Lytton’s residents and the strength of the local First Nations, but perhaps most often, frustration with the speed of the rebuilding and recovery process.
“When something like this happens, you want to go back home,” B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnsworth said a day before the June 30 anniversary. “I totally, totally get it. Plus, it’s a complicated site. There’s a lot of work that has to be done.”
According to Lytton Mayor Jan Polderman, the process has been delayed by more than 80 days, spent waiting for toxicology reports and safe work procedures, and two months spent combing through the rubble of the fire.
devastating flood Last November also eroded area roads, hampering efforts, while winter brought “the biggest dump of snow” Polderman said he had seen in 33 years.
Archaeological work poses an additional challenge, Farnsworth added on Wednesday, noting that a community of 1,200 people predate the village of Lytton and that cultural findings must be preserved.
John Haughan, the acting head of the Lytton First Nation during the disaster, said he was optimistic that a successful reconstruction would take place if everyone worked together.
“This lifestyle is embedded in our DNA,” Haugen told Global News, citing his community’s ties to the region’s air-dried salmon. “We’re really connected to this area and we really want to be a community again.”
He described Lytton as a “powerful place”, whose power comes in part from strong winds and heat.
To date, more than $135 million of provincial and federal dollars have been devoted to the rebuilding of homes, businesses and public infrastructure, as well as relief, cleanup and archaeological work at Lytton.
This does not include the additional millions accessible through Ottawa and BC Pottery for emergency preparedness, adaptation, management, and response to First Nations and municipalities.
in May, a report The Catastrophic Loss Reduction Institute found that the root cause of Lytton’s disaster was “easily igniting structures and homes, not just the wildfire problem.”
According to its website, Lytton plans to become the first community in Canada to have adopted National Guide to the 2021 Wildland-Urban Interface Fire For wildfire safety construction best practices. Its reconstruction plan includes fireproof and fire-resistant building materials, drought tolerant plants, photovoltaic road surfaces to reduce heat absorption, and other energy-efficient initiatives.
Its council proposed a new building by-law that would require new building permit applications to include a vegetation management plan and reduce combustible materials near homes. This would require builders to use non-combustible materials for glaze or heat-strengthening windows, shuttering eaves, roofs, doors, fences, and more.
“You can’t build back what you were, we have to build better and we have to build better,” Farnsworth said. “One of the challenges in terms of disasters – how we deal with them, has been the focus on response and recovery, while the reality is that it is about understanding risk and mitigation.”
Polderman and Farnsworth speculated that the rebuilding of Lytton would begin this fall.
It will include two homes built by a B.C.-based company called Nexi, whose proprietary material — Nexite — is fire-resistant on the outside and inside, and tested for an hour in extreme heat. This will be the first residential construction for the company, which to date has focused on commercial and industrial buildings.
“We are clearly testing a new way of building here for Litton. These are prototype homes,” Gregor Robertson, executive vice president of Nexi, said in an interview. “Hopefully there’s opportunity to do more, and make sure Litton is made climate-smart and climate-resilient.”
‘Rebuild what?’ BC resident Litton says properties still not approved 10 months after fire
One unit will go to the Lytton and the other to the Lytton First Nation, with each community deciding who lives in them. The homes are funded through a range of private and government sponsorships, Robertson said.
In a news release, Leighton First Nation chief Janet Webster said the universally designed and fire-resistant homes “will keep families closer to the core social circle of the community.” He said the nation would research other fire-smart homebuilding technology.
Haugen said he would like to see more members trained in firefighting and emergency response.
A rendering of a fire resistant house built with Nexite that will soon be built in the village of Lytton and the Lytton First Nation.
handout/nexi
Meanwhile, the B.C. government is making changes to its Emergency Program Act. Earlier this month, it revealed its total funding plan — $513 million — for a new climate change strategy, which includes a flood preparedness and resilience plan and an expanded role for the BC Wildfire Service.
According to a consortium of Canadian municipalities and the Insurance Bureau of Canada report goodAvoiding the worst effects of climate change at the municipal level would cost an estimated $5.3 billion per year.
After devastating floods at Grand Forks in May 2018, that municipality opted for what’s known as a “managed retreat” – spending millions to buy some 90 homes, getting people out of harm’s way rather than rebuilding .
As the province prepares for increased frequency and intensity of disasters, Farnsworth predicts that there will be more talks about such climate adaptation Strategies.
“It became very clear that this was going to happen again and again at (Grand Forks), and it made more sense to move,” he said. “But it’s a conversation, a discussion that you have to have with the local community, with the residents.
“Those things aren’t easy because you’re talking about going to someone’s house.”
Emad Agahi. with files of
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