The federal government said Tuesday it would spend $ 77 million to help rebuild Lytton, British Columbia, in a way that could better withstand future fires nearly a year before the village was destroyed by flames. .
More than three-quarters of the new funding – $ 64 million – will go to new, fire-resistant public buildings such as community centers and libraries. The remaining $ 13 million has been set aside for small and medium-sized businesses and insured homeowners to rebuild fire-resistant homes.
“These investments will position Lytton as a leader, showing that a sustainable, sustainable building with zero net levels is not the way of the future, it is the way today,” International Development Minister Harjit Sajan told the media on Tuesday at the surviving gas station. up the hill from the core of the village.
The announcement comes ahead of the one-year anniversary of the disaster on June 30, 2021. The entire village, located about 150 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, was devastated by the fire after enduring four days of record heat. Two people were killed.
Hundreds of homes were turned into charred ruins. The village hopes residents will have access to their homes to begin rebuilding by the end of September, officials said.
“From pandemics to wildfires, atmospheric rivers and landslides, this has been a devastating year for Lytton,” said Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon MP Brad Vis. “Today’s communication is a big job.” I really hope that this funding communication builds our community today in a way that will allow it to withstand future climate disasters.
“Lytton deserves so much.”
Sajan toured what was left of downtown Lytton later Tuesday, backed by the support of the village of Owen Collins, which lost its own home. Little has changed in the city, with many piles of rubble still untouched.
Damaged structures and vehicles are seen in Leeton, British Columbia, on July 9, 2021 (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)
The pace of recovery has affected residents and staff – three recovery managers have come and gone in the last 11 months. Mayor Jan Polderman said on Tuesday that inheritance resolution and insurance negotiations were barriers to faster progress.
“Currently, uninsured properties are being cleaned. “We are still waiting for the insurance industry … to clean up their property,” he said.
Some residents who attended the announcement on Tuesday talked to each other and shook their heads as politicians spoke.
“I think it’s great that they’re finally intervening, but I think something should have been done a long time ago,” said Trisha Thorpe, who lost her home last year and moved into her new, fire-resistant house in March.
“I think if such announcements had been made, say last September, October, I think the community would have had a lot more hope … it’s been a long road and everyone is just tired.”
Through the new Lytton Homeowner Resilient Rebuild program, announced with funding on Tuesday, the government will give a $ 6 million grant to homeowners “who have basic reinsurance insurance who want to rebuild zero or fire-resistant homes.”
Asked when residents can expect to see the money, Sajan also said insurance is an obstacle.
“This is something we would like to be able to snap our fingers at tomorrow, but the challenges with insured places that do not have this clean-up are an obstacle,” Sajan said.
On Friday, Ottawa also announced a $ 207 million advance payment to British Columbia as it finalized applications for the Federal Fund for Disaster Relief for communities affected by last year’s forest fire season.
The full application is more than twice as much.
Polderman said it could take most of a decade to fully rebuild the village, citing other fire-ravaged communities such as Slave Lake and Fort McMurray in Alberta and Paradise, California, as examples.
“Generally speaking, you are considering four to eight years to rebuild the community,” he said.
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