ROTHENBURGER: He barely escaped Lytton inferno, but what’s next?

ONE OF THE LAST TWO PEOPLE out of Lytton when wildfire destroyed the town June 30 didn’t think he was going to make it. Now, he lives in a motor inn in Abbotsford anxiously waiting to find out if he’ll ever be able to go home.

I met Pierre Quievillon in the parking lot of the Abbotsford Sandman last weekend. We were both taking our dogs for an evening walk and, as dog owners do, exchanged pleasantries about our canine companions.

He explained he’d gotten his new puppy, a big, happy white ball of fluff named Endika, after losing his two dogs in the Lytton fire. As we chatted further, the story of how he narrowly escaped with his life from that fire, and his hopes for the future, unfolded.

Quievillon’s trade is carpentry and after work he went home to his rented house, got cleaned up and was on the phone with a friend when she told him a wildfire was burning through the town.

Read More >>

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.