On June 30, 2025, Lytton will mark the fourth anniversary of the 2021 fire. We still feel the significance of the losses experienced by residents and businesses in the Village, neighbouring Nlaka’pamux communities, and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. We remember the two lives lost in the fire and the community members who fled their homes and lives here.
We also acknowledge the generosity and courage of everyone who came to help Lytton during the fire, and all the individuals, organizations, and community groups who have joined to help us rebuild. We are immensely grateful for the federal and provincial governments for their continued funding support for recovery and rebuilding.
Over the last year, the Village has made progress in many areas. In particular, we have seen progress with several infrastructure projects: the roof was installed on the Public Works Building last week; the architect has been contracted for the design of the Community Hub; the federal funding application has been submitted for the permanent Fire Hall; staff and Council have been working with an architect on the design for the Village Office; and significant water and sewer repairs and upgrades are currently in progress.
As of May 31, the Village had issued 20 building permits for residential uses and 11 building permits for commercial/industrial/mixed use development. That is the return of one quarter of the pre-fire buildings. The Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers are generously rebuilding a second home in Lytton. The Village recently approved an extension to resident rebuilding programs, including building permit fee reduction, archaeology grant, and tree reimbursement programs, until the end of the year.
Core businesses, such as a grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant, bank, hotel, and coffee shop have not yet returned; however, the grocery store, a hotel, and a pharmacy are currently preparing building permit submissions for the Village. An interim pharmacy, medical clinic and bank have opened outside the Village. The Lytton Chinese History Museum has reopened, and in July a shade structure in Pocket Park in July, Chief Cexpe’nthlEm Park, and the Legion will provide additional amenities for residents and visitors.
We have seen the return of festivals like River Festival (celebrating its 21st year) during the Labour Day long weekend, May Day long weekend festivities, and the continuation of the Two River Farmers’ Market on Fridays. A new event, the Canyon Cruise returned over the May long weekend for its second year. The people of Lytton have always excelled at coming together for community celebrations.
We continue to feel frustrated with delays related to archaeological work plans and the shortages of approved archaeologists and monitors to oversee work in Lytton. There are many processes that have caused undue hardship in Lytton in the aftermath of the fire. We hope that communities like Jasper benefit from support to expedite recovery and rebuilding following their 2024 wildfire.
There is still lot of work to be done to attract businesses, new residents, and visitors to Lytton and to implement recommendations from our tourism and economic development plans. These are critical pathways for Lytton’s long-term financial sustainability.
I can speak for myself that when our current Council was elected in October 2022, our mandate from the community was to hasten recovery and rebuilding. More than halfway through our term, Council is proud of the work that we have done as a team in collaboration with professional, dedicated Village staff and contractors and our partners. Four years after the fire, we are focussed on our short- and long-term plans for rebuilding. We are still committed, frustrated, hopeful, and resilient.