Lytton, B.C., seeing signs of life, nearly 4 years after wildfire [Video]

It’s taken nearly four years, but Lytton, B.C.’s mayor has finally moved back into her home.

Denise O’Connor had been living in a rental in the village since November of 2021, but on Saturday, she spent her first night in her newly rebuilt three-storey home.

Her old house, like most homes in Lytton, was destroyed when a fast moving wildfire burned through the community on June 30, 2021 — incinerating about 90 percent of the village and burning buildings in the nearby Lytton First Nation, as well as parts of the Thompson Nicola Regional District. 

O’Connor had full replacement insurance so she was able to rebuild her home with the same square footage — and add in an extra bathroom and a larger deck to take advantage of her view of the meeting of the Thompson and Fraser rivers. 

Still, O’Connor said the new place doesn’t feel the same. It …