B.C. auditor general to probe stalled Lytton wildfire rebuild [Video]

British Columbia’s auditor general says his office is doing a review of the province’s response to the 2021 wildfire that devastated the community of Lytton, B.C.

Michael Pickup says in a video statement that the report will focus on the B.C. government’s roles and responsibilities for disaster recovery, its support for Lytton, including funding, challenges that came with rebuilding and how the province can improve.

On June 30, 2021, just one day after Lytton hit a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 C, a wildfire swept through the village, killing two people and levelling almost the entire community.

Efforts to rebuild and return people to their homes have been slow, leading to protests from residents.

Thousands of artifacts were discovered while digging up the area, which was the Nlaka’pamux First Nation village and burial grounds and is protected under B.C.’s Heritage Conservation Act.

Lytton issued its first building permit for a …