Town That Recorded Highest Temperature Is Now on Fire

Mayor of Lytton, BC, orders evacuation
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2021 8:17 AM CDT

On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, the village of Lytton, British Columbia, broke records for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada. By Wednesday, it was on fire. Mayor Joe Polderman says he signed an evacuation order around 6pm Wednesday as fire tore through the village of around 250 residents. "It's dire. The whole town is on fire," Polderman tells the CBC. "It took, like, a whole 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to, all of a sudden, there being fire everywhere." Residents were forced to flee, leaving livestock, pets, and treasured possessions behind.

Polderman tells CTV that he drove to town one more time after issuing the order and was horrified by what he saw. "The structures were engulfed, there was smoke everywhere, the wires were down," he says. The mayor says he can't confirm that all residents escaped. Temperatures in the village 160 miles northeast of Vancouver hit 121 on Wednesday—hotter than the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas. The British Columbia Wildfire Service says resources are being sent to deal with the Lytton blaze. The service says the hot, dry, and windy conditions have created extreme fire danger in the region. (The heat wave has been blamed for hundreds of deaths in the province.)

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