BC’s Auditor General Will Investigate Wildfire Recovery in Lytton

B.C.’s auditor general has launched an investigation into the province’s handling of disaster recovery in Lytton, where rebuilding is just getting underway nearly three years after a deadly wildfire reduced most of the community to ashes.

The Lytton Creek fire tore through the small village in south-central B.C. on June 30, 2021, a day after the area set Canadian heat records when temperatures reached 49.6 C during a deadly heat dome. Roughly 90 per cent of Lytton’s buildings burned and two residents died in the fire.

“The Lytton Creek wildfire burned through more than 100 properties in Lytton and 80,000 hectares of land,” auditor general Michael Pickup said in a statement. “Surrounding communities were also affected.”

The auditor general said the examination will focus on three areas: the province’s roles and responsibilities for disaster recovery, its support and funding for Lytton, and the challenges in rebuilding the community, including opportunities for improvement.

A report is expected early next year.

Speaking outside the legislature on Wednesday, Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart, who requested the review last July, said she welcomed the news.

“Three years is a long time to be away from home,” said Tegart, a member of the BC United party. “I think that this announcement today will give people hope. I know it won’t be quick enough, but it certainly will give us guidelines as we look to the future of climate change disasters and how not to do the recovery process.”

Tegart said the province needs “clear and concise” guidelines for proceeding after climate disasters and she hopes it will shed light on how the Lytton disaster has been managed so far, particularly between the province and local government.

She added that, in the wake of the Lytton fire, she had asked then premier John Horgan to send a team of experts to expedite the recovery process. But that never happened, leaving the small community to grapple with the massive undertaking of rebuilding.

Diane Mombourquette, the Village of Lytton’s chief administrative officer, said the municipality has issued 11 building permits so far. Six homes have begun construction with a seventh about to get underway, she said. In addition, two commercial buildings are under construction, along with permits issued to the school district for a portable classroom and to the village for a storage trailer.

“The village continues with projects focused on repairing and replacing damaged and aging water and sewer infrastructure,” Mombourquette added.

The Tyee reached Lytton resident Ken Pite at his camper, where he has lived since his house burned in June 2021. He said that, in addition to construction getting underway in Lytton, about a dozen homes are being built on a neighbouring Lytton First Nation reserve.

“One house has the roof on,” Pite said about construction in Lytton. “Now, if we compare it to where we should be, that’s a lot different. But it certainly speaks to the people’s perseverance.”

While Pite still owns his lot in Lytton, he said his insurance coverage wasn’t enough to rebuild. He’s currently in a holding pattern — travelling south in the winter and returning to Lytton to camp in a friend’s orchard in the summer — as he waits to see what opportunities unfold.

He said he hopes the auditor general’s examination will look at housing options for Lytton.

“I’m hoping that there’s going to be some common-sense policies come forward,” he said. “Housing is hugely in demand. Seniors are well represented amongst the people that need housing. How about tapping into senior housing funding?”

Pite said he would like to see homes with “simple designs that could be mass-produced” built in Lytton.

In the meantime, Tegart said, the process of rebuilding has been difficult and confusing for residents.

“I’ve heard from contractors who are also absolutely appalled at the lack of clarity on what the steps are to actually get a shovel in the ground,” she said.

Earlier this year, Tegart responded to the provincial budget by slamming the “insufficient” NDP response in Lytton given the roughly $40 million she said it had spent on recovery. On March 4, she told the legislature that Lytton’s rebuilding is “paralyzed by a lack of provincial government leadership.”

While most emergencies in B.C. are handled at the local level, in December 2022 the province established the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness to co-ordinate emergency response across the province.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness, acknowledged the Lytton fire’s impact on area residents and the “long and challenging process” that followed.

“Our priority remains helping Lytton progress in their rebuild and I’m pleased to see that work is well underway,” Ma said. “We welcome the auditor general’s review and will support his work in any way needed. We look forward to any recommendations he may have to help the province enhance support for people and communities after a wildfire.”

Tegart said the B.C. government needs to “do more than talk” when it comes to the impacts of climate disasters.

“We need to be ready. Lytton tells us that we’re not,” Tegart said. “People have been incredibly patient, but they deserve our attention and they deserve to go home.”