The rebuilding of the fire-torn village of Lytton will mostly likely begin in September, according to the B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth.
It’s been 15 months since a wildfire ravaged 90% of Lytton’s community, days after a record-setting heat at the end of June 2021. Although the government claims to have responded quickly, many Lytton residents and officials have criticized how slow the recovery process has been.
Last Friday, Farnworth met up with Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, who said Ottawa is sending an advance payment of $207 million – only half of what is requested – to the province as it finalizes applications for the disaster assistance fund.
“The reality is recovery does take time, it can take quite a bit of time,” Farnworth said.
Although a short-term plan is already in place to rebuild homes, the community is still working on a long-term plan to grapple with the lack of phone, internet and power services.
“We’ve worked very closely with them to move money as quickly as possible so they can begin that rebuild,” Blair said. “People are waiting for help.”
In March, the provincial government committed another $18.4 million in addition to the previous $8.3 million to support wildfire clean-up and recovery efforts in Lytton. The federal government has also committed to offering more than $5 billion toward the clean-up in B.C.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said the wildfire was estimated to have caused $102 million in total insured damage.
