(CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

Lytton Recovery

B.C. government provides Lytton with $8 million for village operations and wildfire recovery

Feb 9, 2022 | 2:58 PM

LYTTON, B.C. — The Village of Lytton will receive more than $8.3 million in funding from the B.C. government to support ongoing village operations and recovery.

In a news release Wednesday (Feb. 9) afternoon, the province says Lytton will receive $6.26 million immediately for wildfire response and recovery costs. That includes fixing the water and wastewater system, legal and governance issues, recovery consultation, debris removal, environmental and archeological remediation, among others.

Additionally, Lytton will receive $2.1 million for three years of core operations, giving the village time to focus on planning, recovery and rebuilding without worrying about revenue generation. The village also received a $1 million grant from the province in December, 2021.

“We know there is a lot of work that still needs to be done, and our government is committed to supporting this recovery,” Jennifer Rice, parliamentary secretary for emergency preparedness says. “As recovery liaisons to the Village of Lytton, Parliamentary Secretary Roly Russell and I are supporting the village as it recovers from a devastating wildfire.”

Jan Polderman, Lytton’s mayor, says the village’s rebuild has been complex.

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“We are grateful to now have access to funding in order to put in place the framework and increase capacity to get the reconstruction underway, which will allow us to ramp up the infrastructure rebuild,” Polderman says.

Legislative changes will also allow Lytton council to repeal and replace bylaws that were destroyed in the fire.

Following the wildfire on June 30, 2021, 187 of 193 residential and business properties in the Lytton experienced damage that resulted in a partial write-down of their property assessment for 2022. Of the 187 damaged residential and business properties, 124 were damaged or destroyed.