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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated during COP 26, the United Nations climate conference, that the country is warming twice as much as the rest of the world.
The temperature rise was especially pronounced in the southern city of Lytton.
In June 2021, the local thermometer hit 49.6ºC, the highest temperature ever recorded in the far north of the planet.
The day after reaching that mark, the small town was engulfed in flames.
Canadian town destroyed in hours by fire after registering 49.6ºC – Photo: Reproduction / BBC
“My sense of belonging was lost in a puff of smoke on June 30,” said Patrick Michell, leader of the indigenous Bar Kanaka community, who lives there.
After losing his home in a fire, he has to move into a motor home with his wife. Her daughter, Serena, was eight months pregnant on the day of the fire and had to escape with only a few clothes on.
Homeless Lytton is now seeking answers and those responsible for the incident.
There were suspicions that sparks emanating from the local railroad tracks ignited the fire, but investigations found no connection between the railroad and the fire.
In this video from the “Life at 50°C” series, the BBC goes to a fire-hit Canadian town where some residents are planning to build new homes in a more sustainable way.
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