Straight Talk

B.C. Coroners Service confirms deaths of two people in Lytton fire

The town has been described as the canary in the coal mine by one survivor

by Charlie Smith on July 3rd, 2021 at 11:07 PM
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      The Lytton fire that broke out on June 30 took at least two lives.

      This was confirmed in a statement by the B.C. Coroners Service as part of an ongoing investigation.

      There are still others who remain unaccounted for, raising the possibility of more fatalities.

      A resident named Jeff Chapman has told reporters that he witnessed his parents' death as they were sheltering themselves from the flames in a trench. A power line fell on top of them.

      According to the B.C. Coroners Service, the two people who died appear to match the descriptions that came from a family member.

      More than 1,000 people from the village and nearby areas fled the area after the fire broke out.

      Tonight, Global News B.C. reported that eyewitnesses saw a CN Rail train in flames in Boston Bar on June 30. That train fire was extinguished.

      It's deepened speculation, which has already been expressed by regional district officials, that sparks from the train might have ignited the blaze in Lytton.

      One of the most harrowing accounts of the fire came from Gordon Murray of the 2 Rivers Remix Society.

      Today on CBC News, Gordon Murray explained how he escaped Lytton by driving through the central part of the town as buildings were on fire on both sides of the road.

      "Lytton is the canary in the coal mine," Murray said, referring to climate change.

      He suggested that if humanity doesn't curb greenhouse gas emissions, more communities will find themselves in a similar situation as Lytton.

      The fire broke out after Lytton had set three consecutive records on three straight days for the highest temperature in Canada, peaking at 49.6 C on June 29.

      Murray pointed out in today's interview that four other B.C. communities broke Canada's previous temperature record this week. They were Lillooet (47.4 C), Cache Creek (47.4 C), Kamloops (47.3 C), and Kelowna (45.2).

      Two others, Osooyoos and Grand Forks, tied the previous record of 45 C, which was set in 1937 in the Saskatchewan communities of Yellow Grass and Midale.

      In the video below, you can see another interview that Murray gave earlier this week to CBC's Ian Hanomansing.

      Video: Gordon Murray describes his escape from Lytton to CBC's Ian Hanomansing.

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