Lytton is an example. But it’s not just an example.

From the start, outsiders have pointed to Lytton’s destruction during 2021’s monstrous heat dome as an example of how climate change is super-sizing natural disasters—and how humans are ill-prepared.

Immediately after the fire, politicians proclaimed that Lytton could be an example of how to build a resilient community than can withstand future events.

And in the last three years, Lytton has proven to be another type of example: one that shows how government of all levels is both ill-suited to accommodate the speedy rebuilding of small and remote disaster-ravaged communities.

But Lytton isn’t just an abstract concept. It’s a real place with real residents. Many still live nearby. Others have been displaced for years. (While Lytton proper was nearly 90% destroyed—its shops and institutions served a much larger populated area, many of which remains unburned.)

Over the last 18 months, as rebuilding stalled and those residents remained in limbo, The Current has tried to cover the situation with a level of depth and enterprise owed to any community going through such an ordeal. With no other local media covering the rebuilding work in a comprehensive and consistent manner, we have attempted to both explain the variety of factors that stalled progress and hold politicians accountable for broken promises. Along with revealing what has gone wrong, we have tried to highlight signs of hope when they emerged.

In-depth stories

March 2023: How the Lytton rebuild went wrong

The centrepiece of our coverage was released in March 2023 after more than a year of reporting and aims to comprehensively explain the multitude of factors that left the village a ‘wasteland’ nearly two years after fire destroyed it. The story is long.

A year after publication, the story remains an accurate summation of the trials of the village immediately after the fire. Construction on the first new home only started in the fall of 2023. By April 24, 2024, around five homes were in the rebuilding phase. The first home’s structure is nearly complete, with its roof recently hoisted into place.

June 2023: We’re in the rebuild

In June of 2023, Lytton officials announced that rebuilding finally looked imminent after two years of weather, bureaucratic obstacles, and logistical challenges. We covered the good news for residents and the hurdles that were still to come.

October 2023: Lytton’s $1,686/day breaking point

Seven months after our first major story, we published a long follow-up on how archaeological issues had thrown the town’s rebuilding into doubt and angered residents. The story showcased the difficulties of allowing residents to return to homes they were forced from while also meeting modern legislation and expectations when it comes to how archeological discoveries are handled.

October 2023: Lytton’s protest

The archeological difficulties led Lytton residents to stage a protest demanding the ability to begin rebuilding their homes. We were there.

Institutions

April/July: 2023

In April, we wrote about concerns about the future of health care in the Lytton area. Three months later, we wrote that a new health centre was in the works, but might take five years to come to fruition.

Update: A new primary care clinic opened in September in a temporary building. Interior is holding a community meeting on April 30 to share its plans for health services in the village and take more feedback. Interior Health says its current concept plan includes “a focus on integrating culturally safe, team-based care, reduced wait times between lab testing and treatment, implementing new technology to improve access to services, incorporating a climate-resilient approach to construction, and more.”

September 2023: Mennonites in Lytton

Last September, we reported on plans by a large Mennonite non-profit to try to lend their volunteer army to rebuild homes in the village.

Update: Bureaucratic issues put the efforts on hold over the summer. We will be following up to learn more about the group’s current plans.

April 2024: Lytton’s Chinese History Museum

Earlier this month, we wrote about work to rebuild Lytton’s Chinese History Museum. We also wrote about the history of the museum, the Joss House that predated it by a century, and the physical objects that are making the museum’s rebirth possible.

The people

January 2024: A new home

In January, we talked to Michele Swan, a Lytton resident who was one of the first to start construction on a new home in the village.

Update: Michele bought a semi-prefabricated home package. When we talked to her, the components of her future home had been rolled into town and placed on a roadside. Work is now well underway on the property site to put the pieces together and complete the home.

September 2023: The poet

Last fall, we profiled Meghan Fandrich, a Lytton woman who had lost her business in the fire but found a new profession and calling as a poet as she tried to process what had happened to herself and her community.

Update: Fandrich spent three winter months in Brooklyn, and returned to Lytton in February. A federal agency has finally recently confirmed details about grants that are available for rebuilding businesses. With that information finally available, Fandrich said she will apply for funding to reconstruct the building she lost. She doesn’t plan to re-open her own café, but hopes it might provide a home for another person to pursue their small-business dreams.