Lytton after the fire: “Climate change comes to everyone”

First came the extreme heat, then the fire: within an hour it razed the Canadian town of Lytton to the ground. Now the residents have returned for the first time. At the same time, the next heat wave threatens.

The coach rolls like a ghost train through the charred remains of what was once Lytton. For the first time, the displaced residents see what the fire left of their home. Gordon Murray was there: “It was not possible to record all of this. People were filming. They were crying. They were making noises of shock. A symphony of loss.”

A forest fire had struck the small town and razed it to the ground in less than an hour. Only a few remains and a rainbow zebra crossing reminds of the life that was here a few days ago. 300 residents fled – two of them no longer made it.

This week it should be hotter again

Lytton’s fate threatens some places among the hills of northwest Canada. The fires are raging in 300 places in the forests of British Columbia.

The whole slope is gone, says one of the firefighters near Ashcroft, stunned. They are in action around the clock. Supported by the Canadian Army. The soldiers are there in case another place has to be evacuated. That’s what she’s afraid of, Krista Gebhard tells the TV station CBC: “I’m scared and so grateful for the people who go in there while we are all fleeing.”

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra warns: “After a few more relaxed days, it will be hotter again this week.” The government has already taken emergency measures. Trains are no longer allowed to use wooded routes at temperatures above 30 degrees. Their uncontrolled sparks could start further fires.

Shellfish overcooked in the sea

But Canadians are also feeling the consequences at sea, says oystercatcher Joe Tarnauski. “They’re all overcooked: oysters, clams – everything. All dead. They didn’t like the heat.” Marine experts say millions of shellfish have died from the heat. There could be more.

Because the next heat wave is looming. The people in British Columbia are prepared, says Gordon Murray from Lytton, the place that no longer exists: “We are at the forefront of climate change. But it comes to everyone. We are the canaries in the coal shaft. We were prepared. But society is not. ”

Politicians and climate experts have already warned: This will be one of the hottest summers in history in Canada. And it probably won’t be the last.