Residents of Canada's Lytton evacuate as catastrophic wildfires devastate village

British Columbia [Canada], July 2 : Around 250 residents of Lytton city of Canada's British Columbia have been ordered to evacuate as explosive wildfires broke out amid soaring temperatures causing record heat waves in the province.
On social media, residents offered accounts of their escape and, with cell service apparently down in much of the region, tried to find out what had become of friends and relatives, Washington Post reported.
"Our poor little town of Lytton is gone... This is so devastating -- we are all in shock! Our community members have lost everything," said one resident, Edith Loring Kuhanga, wrote on Facebook.
In an email sent the next morning to members of the media, village councilor Lilliane Graie wrote that most residents escaped with "only the clothes on our backs."
Mike Farnworth, British Columbia's public safety minister and solicitor general, said it had destroyed most homes and structures in Lytton, as well as the ambulance station and the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, according to Washington Post.
The province's premier John Horgan said that he had spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who offered his assistance. He also warned that the fire risk remained "extreme" in almost every part of the province, with 62 new fires and 29,000 lightning strikes in the past 24 hours.
Lytton's climate crisis comes amid a wave of hot weather across British Columbia, which temperatures peaking at 121 degrees Fahrenheit as of Tuesday. It had set records for high temperatures for three days in a row.
The heat may have already had a devastating impact across much of British Columbia, with elderly and other vulnerable residents appearing to have been hit hardest, Washington Post reported.
Two fires to the north of Lytton, centred on Sparks Lake and McKay Creek, had a combined area of 35 square miles, according to the wildfire service, with both classified as "out of control."