The city of Vancouver, British Columbia, seen through a haze on a scorching hot day, June 29, 2021. Photo: Don MacKinnon / AFP
A Canadian village issued an evacuation order Wednesday due to a wildfire blazing through the village, one day after the town set the all-time national heat record of 121°F.
The big picture: Lytton Mayor Jan Polderman urged all residents to "leave the community and go to a safe location," per the order.
Driving the news: Lytton — located about 195 miles east of Vancouver — reached temperatures of 121°F on Tuesday, the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.
- At least 486 people have died in British Columbia since Friday due to the heat wave.
- "It's dire. The whole town is on fire," Polderman told CBC News. "It took, like, a whole 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to, all of a sudden, there being fire everywhere."
- There are at least 78 fires burning in British Columbia currently, up by 55 over the last two days, per the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard.
What he's saying: "At the First Nation band office, the fire was a wall about three, four feet high coming up to the fence line. I drove through town and it was just smoke, flames, the wires were down," Polderman told CBC News.
Go deeper: At least 486 dead in British Columbia amid historic heat wave