Wildfire Forces Closures
Fast-moving wildfire near Lytton closes Highway 1, prompts evacuation alerts as blaze expands rapidly.
Anonymous
Key Points
1
Officials said the fire was discovered Friday night and “jump[ed] from 10 to 100 hectares in an hour-and-a-half’s time,” underscoring how quickly the Saw Creek blaze escalated.
2
BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Shae Stearns warned that “Hot and dry conditions have made fuels highly susceptible to ignition, so we are expecting some additional growth there as it continues on into the evening.”
3
Stearns also said the fire “appears to be human-caused and is currently under investigation,” adding context to the cause of the blaze.
4
The Voyent Alert for the Lytton First Nation said: “There is no need to evacuate at this time, but be prepared to do so on short notice, if an evacuation order is issued,” clarifying the practical difference between an alert and an order.
5
Infrastructure impacts were more specific than a general outage: BC Hydro reported about 1,000 customers affected not only in Lytton but along Highways 1, 8 and 12, and DriveBC confirmed Highway 1 was closed for a total 116.7 km stretch between Cottonwood Road and Airport Road.
A fast-moving wildfire erupted about 3 kilometres south of Lytton, British Columbia on Friday evening, exploding from 10 hectares to 100 hectares in just 90 minutes. The Saw Creek fire forced evacuation orders for dozens of properties and shut down a 116.7-kilometre stretch of Highway 1 — the main Trans-Canada route between Ashcroft and Boston Bar — with no set reopening time, according to CTV News.
By Saturday morning, the blaze had grown further to roughly 200 hectares, according to Castanet Kamloops. The fire appears to be human-caused and is under investigation. It struck a community still rebuilding from the 2021 wildfire that killed two people and destroyed 90% of Lytton's buildings.
Fire Jumps from 10 to 100 Hectares in 90 Minutes
BC Wildfire Service crews first spotted the fire at around 3:30 PM on Friday, June 19. By 5:57 PM it had reached 10 hectares. Then it exploded. "It jumped from 10 to 100 hectares in an hour-and-a-half's time," fire information officer Shae Stearns said, according to Castanet Kamloops. The fire hit Rank 4 to 5 behavior — that means crown fire with flying embers landing ahead of the main blaze.
Stearns warned that "hot and dry conditions have made fuels highly susceptible to ignition, so we are expecting some additional growth there as it continues on into the evening." Cooler overnight temperatures slowed things down by Saturday morning, dropping fire behavior to a Rank 2 to 3. But 63 BC Wildfire Service firefighters, Lytton Fire and Rescue crews, and more than five aerial helicopters are still battling the blaze, according to CFJC Today.
Evacuation Orders Expand as Highway 1 Closes Completely
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued its first evacuation order at 10:10 PM Friday for 13 properties in Electoral Area I, between Florence Road and the Lytton Airport. By 11:56 PM, the order expanded to cover 47 addressed properties inside the Village of Lytton east of Highway 1, including Ponderosa Heights, according to The Globe and Mail. Another 168 village addresses remain under an evacuation alert — meaning residents must be ready to leave on short notice.
The Lytton First Nation's Voyent Alert told residents: "There is no need to evacuate at this time, but be prepared to do so on short notice, if an evacuation order is issued." Emergency support is available at the Battlefield Community Hall at 1756 Battlefield Road. DriveBC confirmed the full Highway 1 closure spans 116.7 kilometres between Cottonwood Road and Airport Road. Drivers are being told to use Highways 5 and 97C instead, according to CTV News.
Power Out for 1,000 Customers Across Three Highway Corridors
The fire damaged electrical infrastructure across a wide area. BC Hydro reported roughly 1,000 customers without power — not just in Lytton, but along Highways 1, 8, and 12 combined. The outage began around 8:00 PM Friday, according to Castanet Kamloops. No restoration timeline has been given.
Lytton Still Rebuilding Five Years After 2021 Disaster
This fire hits Lytton almost exactly five years after the June 30, 2021 blaze that killed two people and erased 90% of the village. The federal and provincial governments have committed $144 million to rebuild. But as of June 2026, only about 75 residents live in rebuilt homes. The village still has no grocery store and no permanent post office, according to CFJC Today.
Mayor Denise O'Connor is urging residents not to lose hope. "If we start dwelling on the negative, we're not going to rebuild our town," she said. But critics point to $1.9 million spent per returning resident with little visible infrastructure progress. Chief Niakia Hanna of the Lytton First Nation is also pushing to rename the village Tl'ḵémtsin — its Nlaka'pamux name — as part of a reconciliation-focused rebuild strategy, according to The Globe and Mail.
Sentiment
Mostly NegativeNEGATIVENEUTRALPOSITIVE
Publishers
21
Articles
31
Reach
52
A
AnonymousAuthor
