Lytton-area couple finally moves into new home after wildfire

A Botanie Valley couple is living in the bare bones of their new home after their former one burned to the ground last summer.

The Lytton Creek wildfire destroyed the entire Village of Lytton and left two dead. The fire was one of 1,600 that burned throughout last fire season, fueled by an unprecedented dry season with record-breaking temperatures.

Tricia Thorpe, who lives just outside of Lytton in the Botanie Valley, said she fell through “bureaucratic cracks” as she was without wildfire insurance and outside of the village's boundaries, so she’s funding the rebuild of her home out of her own pocket and the kindness of strangers.

The cost of wildfire insurance is “prohibitive,” she said.

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Earlier this month, the province announced $18.4 million will be spent on the rebuilding of Lytton for both insured and uninsured properties. No government funding is available for those just outside of the village, she said.

Thorpe and her husband just moved into their new home a few weeks ago. “We have built a fire smart house and it is net-zero. We built it out of insulated concrete form, it’s like LEGO for adults,” she said, adding they’re adding cement siding and a tin roof to the home.

“Everything we can do to make this place fire-proof and energy-efficient, everything on an extreme budget,” she said.

A GoFundMe was set up and they raised $17,000 but the rest they’re funding themselves, she said. The neighbouring community has rallied to support them, helping them rebuild.

“We’re in debt,” she said. “What else are you going to do? We’ve been lucky, basically all of our labour has been volunteer.”

They also lost a barn and most of their livestock when the fire roared through the community. Currently, the home and barn have not yet been completed but the house has water and a toilet. Thorpe compared it to "glamping."

“It’s been very humbling the amount of support you get from individuals,” Thorpe said.

READ MORE: Couple racing to rebuild home destroyed by Lytton Creek wildfire as winter approaches

They hope the home will be completed come the first anniversary of the fire.

“We made it through the winter working on this place, despite broken roads because that atmospheric river cut off Lytton. We both ended up with Omicron, we ended up with a really cold winter,” Thorpe said.

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