B.C. wildfire report finds homes ‘easily ignitable’

A report on the wildfire that destroyed the British Columbia village of Lytton concludes the disaster couldn’t have been stopped, even with an areawide emergency response.

The report, published this month by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, says scientists found the root cause was “easily ignitable structures and homes, and not just a wildfire problem.”

It says even the best possible fire response would have been “overwhelmed” because at least 20 buildings were fully engulfed within 80 minutes and would have required at least 60 fire trucks to contain.

The report includes 33 specific recommendations for ways to mitigate wildfire risk and reduce exposure and vulnerabilities within socalled home ignition zones.

Two people were killed in the Lytton fire last June.