The village of Lytton, which recorded the record heat of 49.6°C in Canada, burned at 90%!

Eva Deschamps / July 3, 2021

Ottawa is preparing to send reinforcements to British Columbia, where about 100 fires have been added to the unprecedented heat wave ravaging Western Canada and the United States, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

At the end of the day, 143 fires were active in the province, including 77 in the last two days, according to a provincial government map.

We will be there to help in British Columbia and across the country, Justin Trudeau promised at a press briefing, including to help rebuild.

The Canadian village of Lytton, some 250 km northeast of Vancouver, now famous for having recorded this week a national heat record of 49.6° Celsius, has burned to 90%. The 250 inhabitants had been evacuated Wednesday evening because of a fire that spread very quickly.

In total, about a thousand people were evacuated Wednesday night in the province.

Our thoughts are with the grieving families who are dealing with terrible loss, said Mr. Trudeau.

We can see very clearly that extreme weather events are becoming more and more frequent. We cannot ignore the fact that climate change is having devastating impacts across the planet, he said.

As of Friday, the heat wave continued across the central Canadian prairies. In addition to British Columbia, heat wave warnings have been issued for the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and parts of the Northwest Territories, and now northern Ontario.