Lessons from Lytton: Understanding the Social Impact of a Wildfire Disaster


Ashley Berard, University of Victoria

The interior region of British Columbia made international headlines during the summer of 2021 when the small community of Lytton reached Canada’s highest recorded temperature ever at 49.6 degrees Celsius. The next day, the community was sent an evacuation order at 6:00pm due to an encroaching wildfire. Within an hour, the community had burnt down, leaving the majority of the town’s 250 residents without homes. Other rural communities in the Interior of British Columbia consistently experience wildfire disasters, with evacuations, poor air quality, and loss becoming a normal part of life. This presentation will present findings from a PhD project in which community members from Lytton and other rural communities were interviewed to share what the experience of wildfire seasons are, and the compounding social impacts that are faced due to climate changes. Findings will highlight the role of social capital in addressing the main concerns participants raised. 

This paper will be presented at the following session: