Theories of a passing train that might have been the root cause of a fire that savaged a small BC village has been ruled out by investigators..Lytton, approximately 260 km northeast of Vancouver, was home to about 250 people, with roughly 1,700 people living in the surrounding areas, such as Nlaka’pamux nation reserves..Following three consecutive days of record-breaking temperatures and an unknown source of fire, the village burned to the ground on June 30, 2021..Residents claimed to have observed sparks emitting from the railway which ignited the desiccated landscape..The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) — an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation occurrences — investigated the allegations, but found no ties to railway operations..“The TSB investigation has not identified any link between railway operations and the fire,” the agency said in a Thursday statement..The board will not entertain the theory any further unless new information emerges connecting trains to the event..The “wildfire” remains under investigation by BC Wildfire Service and Mounties are conducting a preliminary inquiry to determine the need for a parallel criminal investigation..“Investigation into the fire that impacted the Village of Lytton and neighbouring indigenous communities on June 30, 2021, remains active and is progressing,” said Dawn Roberts of the RCMP on Thursday..“The RCMP respects the importance of completing a thorough and comprehensive investigation, given the devastating impacts.”.Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
