Gibsons Mayor Beamish took a moment at the July 6 regular council meeting to address the destruction in the village of Lytton, as did the town’s interim corporate services officer, Rebecca Anderson, who has a personal connection to the village.
“I’d … like to acknowledge the recent destruction in Lytton. This is where Rebecca was a CAO prior to coming to Gibsons,” said Beamish.
Anderson, who stepped in for Lindsay Grist in February after she went on maternity leave, served as CAO of the village of Lytton from August 2016 to July 2020.
Anderson said she had spoken with three former colleagues the day after the fire, which obliterated the village on June 30 after it broke Canada’s all-time hottest temperature record days before.
“It’s devastating and it’s heart wrenching,” she said. “They’re suffering shock and trauma and grief. It’s a devastating loss.”
She said she believed all but four of her former local government colleagues lost their homes and one staff member lost both of his parents in the fire. “They are reeling,” she said.
She said she was hoping “we can arrange something here in Gibsons for donations” and is also hoping to touch base with Lytton’s current CAO, who she said was “heavily worked and burdened with what they need to do.”
“Words can’t even,” said Anderson. “All I can do is keep them in my thoughts and prayers.”
Beamish said the province has also been in touch with Gibsons interim CAO Mark Brown, who has experience with disaster recovery, and Beamish said the CAO could take time away from his duties to offer assistance if that’s ultimately requested.
“Whatever we can do for another community to help at this time,” he said. “We share those issues because it could be for us one day, so we need to acknowledge that.”
