LYTTON, British Columbia — The village of Lytton and its local regional district have filed suit against Canadian National, CPKC, and Transport Canada over a 2021 fire that destroyed the village, accusing the railroads and the government agency of negligence.
The CBC reports the suit was filed by Lytton and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District in B.C. Supreme Court on June 16 regarding the June 30, 2021, fire that killed two people and saw more than 90% of the community burned. It says the railroads were negligent for continuing to operate despite extreme fire danger and existing wildfires in the area, and that a Canadian Pacific train operated by CN crews caused the fire. The two railroads operate paired trackage through the area. Transport Canada was negligent, it says, for not ordering the railroads to stop operations that day.
The fire led Transport Canada to impose new operating rules to address fire risks [see “Canada announces fire-prevention rules …,” Trains News Wire, July 6, 2022] although the Transportation Safety Board of Canada ultimately said it was unable to prove a train caused the fire [see “TSB finds no evidence …,” News Wire, Oct. 14, 2021] although the fire began within 5 feet of the rail line.
The cause of the fire has never been conclusively determined. The suit says a train had passed 18 minutes before the fire was reported, and residents believe sparks from a locomotive ignited the blaze, the CBC reports. Residents have filed a class-action suit against the two railroads.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says fire damage is about C$102 million.
A CPKC representative told the CBC said the company would not comment on the suit.
Photo shows a road crossing. A smoker or a vehicle with a dragging chain could also have caused a fire.
With fires already in the area, it may have been a hot ember blown by the wind. What were the weather conditions? If it could be proven that it started by the railroad, then they should have to make it right to the community just as Norfolk Southern is doing in East Palestine Oh. With investigations already done this looks cut and dried for the railroads.
“Investigators were unable to determine if the train, the last to pass before the fire, caused the blaze.”
In an ideal world, that should settle it.
Sparks…yeah, and I’m the Canadian Prime Minister, immediately toss this one out of court, but it’s Canada so who knows what’ll happen.
You need to watch Virtual Railfan web action more often. I have seen live action in several US locations where sparks shooting out of the stack of a railroad diesel(s) locomotive has started several fires that if they had not occurred in various city limits could have easily started larger fires.
The older the engine, the more prone they are to “spark” from the turbocharger exhaust. I saw one locomotive in Wichita, KS that had more sparks coming out the exhaust stack than smoke, and the other two units in the locomotive consist were not much better.
So don’t be so dismissive. Evidence goes both ways. Railroads need to take their knocks when its there fault, just like anybody else. Maybe someday, the truth will be uncovered and then, just like NS, they should be wiling to step up and field their share of the damage… as has been spoken here.