Residents still missing after fire razes town

A woman who escaped a ferocious wildfire that destroyed the most of the village of Lytton, B.C., and surrounding First Nation communities says she didn't even have time to put shoes on before fleeing.

Noeleen Mcquarry-budde says her husband, Lance Budde, returned moments after stepping outside their house, screaming that a fire was upon them and they had to leave.

She says black smoke was pouring down the village's main street and fire seemed to be coming from all directions as they drove out of town.

The couple piled 11 people in the back of their truck on the way to nearby Lillooet, where she says they slept in the field of a recreation centre with their 55-kilogram dog, Daisy, before continuing on to Squamish.

Mcquarry-budde says they only stopped the truck when they believed they had reached a safe distance to look back and survey the damage.

“The whole village of Lytton went up in I would say 10 minutes,” she says.

“We were watching it burn and just thanking Creator that we got out.”

The search continues for multiple residents, but Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth hasn't said how many people from the area are unaccounted for.

Farnworth has said it's been hard to keep tabs on where everyone ended up, given the urgent nature of Wednesday's evacuation.

It's unclear whether anyone remains in the village as the cell towers were destroyed, officials have said.

Details about conditions in the village are scant because it's not safe to enter the area, the RCMP said, but aerial photos show that numerous buildings and vehicles have been destroyed.

The Mounties have said they would begin searching for missing or injured people as soon as it is safe to do so.

Telus Corp. said Friday it has deployed emergency communications equipment to support local authorities and emergency crews dealing with the wildfire. Telus is the main wireless provider for the Lytton area, and B.C. officials say a lack of cell service has made it difficult to determine if anyone remains in the village.

The company set up a mobile cell tower at about 6 p.m. Thursday to provide temporary service in the area after the fire disabled two of its towers, Telus spokeswoman Liz Sauve said.

The roughly 1,000 people who managed to flee to safety when the emergency evacuation order was issued will find very little left when they return, Farnworth said.

Troy Clifford, president of the union representing ambulance workers in B.C., said Lytton had one ambulance and a station, both of which were lost in the fire.

The village has a rotating ambulance staff of 25 to 30, and all paramedics out of Lytton are accounted for, he added.