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RCMP accidentally sparked wildfire near Lytton, which is now 155 hectares

Click to play video: 'Wildfire north of Lytton accidentally sparked by RCMP equipment'
Wildfire north of Lytton accidentally sparked by RCMP equipment
Mounties have confirmed a wildfire north of Lytton was sparked by equipment belonging to them. The Izman Creek Wildfire is 130 hectares in size and has closed Highway 12 and forced one local evacuation order – Jul 3, 2025

The RCMP has confirmed that an accident involving one of its trailers led to the ignition of the Izman Creek wildfire near Lytton on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement, RCMP said that at approximately 2:20 p.m., an “equipment failure” of an RCMP trailer started the fire alongside Highway 12 near Lytton.

“It appears that the right side wheel ejected from the trailer, ultimately causing a fire in the grass-filled ditch,” RCMP said in a statement.

“The officer stopped to engage the flames with their issued fire extinguisher but the conditions were not favourable and they were unable (to) contain the fire.”

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The BC Wildfire Service was called in and dispatched crews to combat the blaze.

Click to play video: 'B.C. wildfires: Update on fires burning near Lytton'
B.C. wildfires: Update on fires burning near Lytton

The Izium Creek wildfire is now an estimated 155 hectares in size, as of Thursday afternoon, and has been classified as a wildfire of note.

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The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has issued an evacuation order and an evacuation alert due to the fire. The Lytton First Nation has also issued an evacuation alert.

RCMP said the underwater recovery team was in the area for a search for a missing swimmer in Seton Lake, and was returning to the Lower Mainland when the equipment failure occurred.

“This is a tremendously unfortunate set of circumstances that demonstrates the need for extreme caution and fire awareness during our long wildfire season,” RCMP said in a statement.

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