No definitive cause behind 2021 fire that destroyed most of Lytton, B.C.: RCMP
LYTTON — Following a lengthy investigation in which police interviewed over 165 witnesses, provincial Mounties say they have not been able to identify a single cause behind the deadly fire that impacted the village of Lytton, B.C. and neighbouring Indigenous communities in June 2021.
On June 30, 2021, just one day after Lytton hit a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 C, a wildfire swept through the village and ravaged the small community, killing two people and levelling almost the entire community.
According to the findings of a comprehensive criminal investigation that featured interviews with 168 witnesses and an extensive collection of digital forensic evidence containing more than 400 videos and photographs, B.C. RCMP criminal investigators have concluded that no single individual, action or inaction, or any company, contributed to the fire.
“The totality of all the investigative findings have been reviewed and the RCMP can now confirm that the criminal investigation has not determined the cause of the fire,” according to Cpl. James Grandy, District Advisory NCO (media relations), for the Southeast District of B.C. “Establishing the cause of the fire is required in order to prove an offence was committed. Additionally, there is also no evidence to suggest the fire was intentionally set by the actions, or inactions, of any individual(s).”