IN THE LEDGE – Where is the plan for Lytton 99 days after the fire?

A statement from Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart today (Oct. 7, 2021) in the B.C. Legislature.

J. Tegart: It is with a heavy heart that I stand in the House today to share a short two-minute statement about an event that changed the lives of 100 people in my riding. On June 30, the village of Lytton burned to the ground. They lost their hospital, their village office, their RCMP station, their post office, their fire hall, their bank, their grocery store, their library. In fact, they lost their whole main street.

The fire moved so fast that many residents got out with only the clothes on their back. Two residents perished that day. Hundreds lost homes. Businesses were burned to the ground. Public services were incinerated, and the community looks like a war zone.

Neighbouring communities, family, friends and others opened their homes and arms to welcome victims of the fire. Residents were scattered to the far regions of the province due to a lack of capacity to house them close to Lytton. Within the first week, the Premier flew over by helicopter to view the village. He promised the people of Lytton that they would be made whole again.

But it has now been 99 days since the fire; 99 days in a hotel; 99 days and still not allowed full access to their homes; 99 days of restaurant food; 99 days of displacement; 99 days of frustration, anxiety, disappointment, no answers, no hope, limited assistance; 99 days with no timeline, no path forward; 99 days of people on the ground doing the best that they possibly can. But 99 days, and where is the support promised by government? Ninety-nine days, with winter on its way. Where is the plan after 99 days?

Lyttonites are resilient people who are anxious to move forward on the path to recovery, but everyone in the community has been traumatized. I ask government to step up, provide the support that was promised, and let’s get our people home.

Source: BC Hansard.