This report, authored by Jack D. Cohen, PhD., and Alan Westhaver, M.Sc., was commissioned by the BC FireSmart Committee and published by the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR). It provides a comprehensive examination of the Lytton Wildland-Urban fire disaster for the purpose of:
- Understanding the relationship between the wildfire conditions, how homes and businesses ignited and burned to total destruction resulting in the Lytton fire disaster on June 30 2021.
- Communicating understanding and awareness specifically related to the Lytton WU fire disaster examination revealing fundamental principles of all WU fires that can be generally applied by residents, municipal and emergency managers such that all communities can choose to become more wildfire resilient and more likely to avoid future disasters.
- Making recommendations for readily attainable ignition resistant materials and designs, and best practices for rebuilding and maintenance of fire-resistant communities at the Village of Lytton and Lytton First Nations, Klahkamich (IR 17) and Klickkumcheen (IR 18).
For an animated summary of the findings, click key learnings below, or download the full report. To watch a video presentation on the findings, click here.
Lytton Episode
This podcast episode dives specifically into the home ignition zone, as well as the recent report he was instrumental in bringing to life: An Examination of the Lytton, BC wildland-urban fire destruction. Alan shares what he and his team learned, what recommendations they have and some of the insights they gathered throughout their research and investigation process.