Author Topic: Town of Lytton burnt down  (Read 328 times)

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Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Town of Lytton burnt down
« on: July 02, 2021, 12:21:43 am »
Days after setting all-time Canadian records for high temperatures, Lytton has been burnt to the ground by wildfire.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6087311

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More than 1,000 people living in and around Lytton, B.C., northeast of Vancouver, were forced to leave with little notice Wednesday. They raced out of town as smoke and flames virtually decimated the entire community in one of the most destructive fire emergencies in recent memory.

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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2021, 11:46:39 am »
Very sad.  Interested to see how the fire started.  If it was 47 degrees i'd assume it wasn't lightning during a rainstorm.
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Offline wilber

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2021, 12:14:28 pm »
Very sad.  Interested to see how the fire started.  If it was 47 degrees i'd assume it wasn't lightning during a rainstorm.

Seems like it started in the town itself so most likely human cause of some sort.
"Never trust a man without a single redeeming vice" WSC
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Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2021, 01:39:53 pm »
I read that they think it was sparks from a train.

Offline BC_cheque

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2021, 02:27:54 pm »
That was really heart-breaking, especially after what they went through during the heat wave. 

Kamloops had an evacuation too but luckily it started to rain.  We may end up having a really bad summer again.

Offline wilber

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2021, 02:43:35 pm »
Our daughter and her family are camping at Green Lake PP near 70 Mile. She said it was quite smoky, I guess from the Sparks Lake fire. A few years ago they were there and had to evacuate through Little Fork and come home via the Yellowhead and Okanagan because the other highways were closed. They love the place but I wonder if they will go back again.
"Never trust a man without a single redeeming vice" WSC
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Offline kimmy

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2021, 11:27:43 pm »
It was such a dry spring that everybody knew this was going to be a bad summer for fires.    It was pretty smokey here, but it's a little better today.

 -k
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Offline eyeball

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2021, 12:14:18 pm »
It's rained every morning here on the coast since the province-wide camp-fire ban went into effect.

They did away with the fog zone designation we enjoyed in the old biogeoclimatic days. I guess it's just an exercise in complying with authority now - I've heard mutterings that camp fires will be banned permanrntly on the basis they contribute to climate change.  At least that would make it easier when explaining to guests that they can't enjoy a weeny or marshmallow roast around the firepit.

Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2021, 02:37:59 pm »
It's rained every morning here on the coast since the province-wide camp-fire ban went into effect.

No rain whatsoever on the east side of the Island…

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They did away with the fog zone designation we enjoyed in the old biogeoclimatic days. I guess it's just an exercise in complying with authority now - I've heard mutterings that camp fires will be banned permanrntly on the basis they contribute to climate change.  At least that would make it easier when explaining to guests that they can't enjoy a weeny or marshmallow roast around the firepit.

Agreed.  Bad move by the Province.  The west coast is often very different in terms of fire risk.  There’s no reason for a blanket ban.

Offline eyeball

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2021, 02:56:47 pm »
No rain whatsoever on the east side of the Island…

Agreed.  Bad move by the Province.  The west coast is often very different in terms of fire risk.  There’s no reason for a blanket ban.
Seems like another example of the how things are being dumbed down to the lowest common dummy.

Baaaaa?

Offline wilber

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #10 on: July 08, 2021, 03:04:08 pm »
No rain whatsoever on the east side of the Island…

Agreed.  Bad move by the Province.  The west coast is often very different in terms of fire risk.  There’s no reason for a blanket ban.

How much rain on the west coast of the island in the last month?
"Never trust a man without a single redeeming vice" WSC

Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #11 on: July 08, 2021, 04:28:54 pm »
How much rain on the west coast of the island in the last month?

Rain isn’t the only variable in determining fire risk.  How much fog has there been, and is this making it less of a risk? 

Let’s ask Eyeball if the west coast is tinder dry, or not….

Offline eyeball

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2021, 05:12:56 pm »
It's cool, lush, green and its wet every morning. Fog turns to mist and light drizzle. Every morning since the heat wave.

And before long it will be Fogust
« Last Edit: July 08, 2021, 05:14:54 pm by eyeball »

Offline wilber

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2021, 05:18:10 pm »
Rain isn’t the only variable in determining fire risk.  How much fog has there been, and is this making it less of a risk? 

Let’s ask Eyeball if the west coast is tinder dry, or not….

So the heat wave didn't get to you. I know what you mean about the fog. Back when we had an airplane we used to fly over to Tofino and walk down to the beach. It would be CAVU in Vancouver and WOXOF in Tofino until the sun burned the fog off around noon.
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Offline eyeball

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Re: Town of Lytton burnt down
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2021, 09:31:41 pm »
So the heat wave didn't get to you. I know what you mean about the fog. Back when we had an airplane we used to fly over to Tofino and walk down to the beach. It would be CAVU in Vancouver and WOXOF in Tofino until the sun burned the fog off around noon.
We had 3 to 4 days of the wave. Rainfall was also lower than normal in June but we get a fair bit of rain in Junuary as its sometimes called so while it was a warmer and drier we haven't really dried out. Like I said it's positively lush in terms of vegetation.

There are water restrictions in effect in Tofino but that's normal even when it's wet. There's just too many people using a water system that's always trying to catch up to demand it seems. I'm on a well that's never gone dry even during the longest droughts we've had in almost 40 years.

We've certainly had dry hot spells that warrant fire bans and there were times when we couldn't go logging. With the sunniest warmest weather though comes the fog. Almost daily and within a narrow strip right along the coast it often remains moist for hours everyday. Drive inland or up a mountain above the fog and its hot and dry.  Of course it's like driving in proverbial pea soup offshore. Its funny watching people in shorts and tee shirts wondering about the crew zipping up and putting gloves on while heading out the harbour. Then we hit the WALL.

As far as I'm aware there's been no record or sign of a natural wildfire on this side of Sutton Pass. Just east of that of course was the Tay or Taylor River fire that was started when a blast by highway construction crews in the 1967 set 2600 hectares ablaze. You can still see gray ghosts sticking up thru the new growth. I've been told 1st Nation's have no recollection of such a thing happening or recorded in their oral histories right along the coast.