The insurer for the Village of Lytton and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has filed a lawsuit against Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) railways, as well as Transport Canada, in connection with the wildfire that engulfed the village in 2021.
The lawsuit, filed by the Municipal Insurance Association of BC (MIABC), alleged negligence on the part of the railways and the government agency for allowing trains to pass through the town during the 2021 heat dome.
According to the notice of claim, a train traversed the village just 18 minutes before the first report of a fire near the tracks. This fire went on to ravage 90 percent of the town’s buildings and scorch an extensive 837 square kilometres of land.
The claim went on to say that CN and CP continued to operate trains in late June 2021 despite the unprecedented heatwave and extreme wildfire conditions.
It specifically highlighted a train that passed through Lytton at approximately 4:30 pm on June 30, which was owned or leased by CP but operated by CN employees on CN tracks. The fire was reported at 4:48 pm in the vicinity of the tracks west of the city.
Both railways allegedly failed to ensure the safety of the train’s braking and other systems, the claim said, in addition to neglecting to implement adequate fire prevention measures and monitor for signs of smoke or fire along the tracks.
A Transportation Safety Board report released in October 2021 did not find evidence suggesting that railway operations caused the Lytton wildfire, according to the Canadian Press. However, the suit argued that CN failed to prevent an “unreasonable risk” of the train igniting the surrounding combustible materials, such as sparks or other incendiary substances.
Furthermore, the lawsuit claimed that CP should have been aware of the unsafe conditions. The railway failed to install or adequately maintain a spark arrestor system and other mechanical measures to mitigate the risk of fire, the lawsuit added.
Transport Canada has also been accused of breaching its duty of care to the community by not ordering CN and CP to halt train operations during the heatwave, which saw Lytton experience a record-breaking temperature of 49.6°C on June 29.
MIABC is seeking general and special damages, as well as costs related to various aspects such as emergency response, fire investigation, and the village's reconstruction.
Filed in BC Supreme Court on June 16, the claim did not specify the amount of damages being sought. However, the Insurance Bureau of Canada previously estimated insured losses from the destruction in Lytton to be at $102 million.
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