Wheel fell off RCMP trailer, sparking Lytton, B.C., fire that triggered evacuations

Mounties say a out-of-control wildfire that has triggered evacuations near Lytton, B.C., was caused when a wheel fell off an RCMP trailer in a "tremendously unfortunate" incident.

Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said in a statement released Thursday that the "equipment failure" that sparked the Izman Creek fire, about 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, happened on Tuesday afternoon on Highway 12.

The wildfire began a day after the fourth anniversary of a fire that destroyed most of the village of Lytton, and it has now grown to 155 hectares.

Clark said that it appears the right-side wheel of the trailer was "ejected" in the incident that caused a fire in a grass-filled ditch.

An officer tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher, but was unsuccessful, and the BC Wildfire Service quickly dispatched crews to fight the fire, he said. 

The trailer was carrying equipment from a police dive team involved in the search for a missing swimmer in Seton Lake, about 100 kilometres northwest of Lytton.

The underwater recovery team was returning to the Lower Mainland when the equipment failure occurred, Clark said. 

"This is a tremendously unfortunate set of circumstances that demonstrates the need for extreme caution and fire awareness during our long wildfire season," the statement said. 

Cali Nessman, an information officer from Kamloops Fire Centre with BC Wildfire Service, said on Thursday that the cause of the fire was under investigation, but she would not directly respond to questions about the RCMP's involvement.

"The most important thing to remember about human-caused wildfires is that they are preventable," said Nessman. 

The Izman Creek fire is among about 90 fires burning in the province and is B.C.'s only wildfire of note, meaning it's creating an increased level of interest. 

The BC Wildfire Service said three helicopters and three initial attack crews have been assigned to the area to contain the blaze. 

It said crews will continue structure protection and launch indirect attack methods. 

Nessman said there was "minimal growth" of the fire on Thursday morning but rising temperatures could mean more fire activity.

The fire burning north of Lytton prompted the Thompson-Nicola Regional District to issue an evacuation order for three properties and an evacuation alert for nine addresses along Highway 12 on Tuesday.

The Lytton First Nation also issued an evacuation alert for a large area encompassing several of its reserves on the east side of the Fraser River.

Lytton is still in the process of rebuilding from the 2021 fire that killed two people and wiped out much of the village and part of the Lytton First Nation four years ago on Monday. 

Village Mayor Denise O'Connor said on Wednesday that the timing of the latest wildfire has made it that much more impactful for community members.

"People just couldn't believe that a fire would start on the anniversary," O'Connor, who became mayor of Lytton a year after the 2021 wildfire.

She said there are many people in the area still struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder from four years ago. 

The wildfire service said in its situational report on Thursday that cool conditions and thunderstorms are in the forecast for much of the province, bringing a low-to-moderate chance of lightning.

It said nearly 75 per cent of blazes burning in B.C. have been sparked by lightning.

The Fort Nelson area in the northeast is getting the most rain, which will help reduce the intensity of the fires there, the service said. 

North and central B.C. are expecting seasonal temperatures, and while there may be a slight cooling in the south, hot and dry conditions are expected to linger, the service said. 

The service said about 36 per cent of the wildfires actively burning in the province are classified as out of control, 30 per cent are being held and 34 per cent are under control.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — BC Wildfire Service