The B.C. Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to a class-action lawsuit brought by residents of Lytton regarding the June 30, 2021 fire that destroyed 90 per cent of the buildings in the community’s downtown and killed two people, as well as destroying homes and buildings in the regional district and First Nations surrounding the village.
The lawsuit is against Canada’s two main rail companies: Canadian Nation Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). The mainlines of both companies run through Lytton, bordering the downtown area to the east (CPKC) and west (CN) of the village.
In the days leading up to the June 30, 2021 fire, much of British Columbia was in the grip of a heat dome which was ultimately deemed responsible for the deaths of more than 600 people. Lytton had already broken the previous record high temperature for Canada, establishing new high marks on subsequent days until June 29, when it recorded a new Canada-wide record high of 49.6 C; a record which still stands.
The fire is believed to have started in an area at the south end of the community known locally as Hobo Hollow. Residents living on the west side of the Fraser River park vehicles in a gravel lot at Hobo Hollow, crossing the river on foot to and from their homes via a pedestrian bridge beside the CN’s south rail bridge.
The fire started shortly after 4:30 p.m. on June 30, and quickly spread throughout the downtown area and beyond. More than 1,000 residents of Lytton and the surrounding area were forced to flee at a moment’s notice.
The parents of Lytton resident Jeff Chapman, both of whom were in their sixties, took shelter in a trench on their property after their home was consumed by flames. They were killed after a power line fell across the trench.
A report issued by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) in October 2021 concluded that “The TSB investigation has not identified any link between railway operations and the fire. Further effort … is not warranted unless new information establishes that a TSB reportable event (i.e. an accident or incident involving rolling stock) occurred.”
In September 2024 the BC RCMP released the results of its investigation into the fire. After searching two areas (one in Lytton), examining physical evidence and digital forensic evidence, interviewing 168 witnesses, and reviewing parallel investigations by the BC Coroners Service, BC Wildfire Service, and the TSB, the RCMP stated that their criminal investigation “has not determined the cause of the fire.”
The report noted that “establishing the cause of the fire is required in order to prove an offence was committed. Additionally, there is also no evidence to suggest the fire was intentionally set by the actions, or inactions, of any individual(s).” C/Supt. Brad Haugli, Southeast District Commander, said that “While we have no single source or cause that can account for the devastating fire, it was not due to lack of effort.”
On Dec. 2, 2025, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ward Branch agreed to certify a class-action lawsuit brought by Lytton residents against CN and CPKC. Both companies had argued that a lack of conclusive evidence about the origin of the fire should prevent the lawsuit from moving forward.
However, Branch said that the plaintiffs had provided enough evidence to suggest that allegations that railway operations might have played a part in causing the fire had “some basis in fact.” He added that despite the lack of eyewitnesses, when the case comes to trial the court will be “entitled to draw inferences about the initiation of the fire from surrounding circumstances.”
These circumstances include new information regarding elevated temperatures that were detected on the wheel bearings of a westbound train engine heading towards Kamloops. While that engine was removed from the train in Kamloops, the CPKC crew operating the train apparently did not inform the CN crew that took over the train of the high wheel bearing temperatures that had been detected.
Video from the train showed that as it passed through Lytton, loose particles of coal dust were being blown from the train. Wheel temperatures reached 278 F, below the threshold at which crews would have been alerted (300 F) and at which the train would have been required to stop (550 F).
In deference to the extreme wildfire risk in the area, CN had imposed a 25 mile/hour speed limit on trains. Crews also avoided “excessive braking,” and trucks equipped with fire suppression equipment were deployed. While the onboard video showed no signs of smoke, fire, or obstruction as the train passed through Lytton, a CN patrol truck following 15 minutes behind the train saw smoke coming from the area of Lytton. When the truck was less than 200 metres from the spot where the fire is alleged to have started, it was unable to continue due to fire on both sides of the CN track.
The lawsuit was filed within weeks of the fire in June 2021, and seeks damages on behalf of those who suffered losses in the fire, family members of those who died as a result of the fire, and those who lost property not covered by insurance. Three local First Nations — Lytton First Nation, Siska, and Cook’s Ferry — have initiated their own legal actions, and are excluded from the class-action suit.
“Just about everyone I’ve spoken with is glad to see this going ahead,” says Lytton mayor Denise O’Connor. She lost her home in the June 2021 fire; its replacement was not completed, and ready to move into, until May 2025.
“It’s been four-and-a-half years, so people have been waiting a long time, and the process is really just starting. This ruling does bring us closer to hopefully obtaining justice and possible compensation for everyone that was harmed by the fire.”
O’Connor notes, however, that any possible compensation for losses is secondary to finding answers.
“I think there are people who are hopeful, such as people who lost their homes and don’t have money to rebuild, that there will be enough for that, but we don’t know. There are no guarantees.
“I’d say it’s more about seeing justice done. None of us know what evidence or information anyone really gathered, so it makes me hopeful that maybe there will be fault found.”
O’Connor says that in the meantime, the Village of Lytton is not waiting on the results of the court action.
“We have been, and will continue to focus on, rebuilding and bringing back residents, businesses, and services to Lytton.”
The first phase of the trial is not expected to take place until spring of 2027, which will give the plaintiffs time for discovery and to gain access to more information about the fire.