The Village of Lytton is taking significant steps forward in working towards rebuilding after the June 2021 wildfire which destroyed the village.

Mayor Denise O’Connor says a pair of recovery managers have been hired in Lytton to help accelerate restoration and re-development, noting they have already hit the ground running.

“The recovery managers have the knowledge and that people can contact,” she said.

“They’ve done so much in the last two weeks and they have actually started implementing some of the recommendations without even having seen the report.”

The report, as O’Connor mentions, was endorsed by council and is named the Lytton and Region Economic Recovery Plan, which identifies short and long-term goals in the recovery process.

“This isn’t just for the Village of Lytton, this is for the entire area; we have the First Nations community, and we have the Regional District around, this is for everyone.”

Colin O’Leary, with O’Leary Associates, explains that plan, and sets out a recovery plan, in addition to identifying recovery needs across the region.

“What this plan can do now is there’s a lot of organizations that want to help. They’re waiting on the sidelines, and they’re having a hard time identifying what is the need,” he explained.

“So we have clearly demonstrated (in the plan) exactly what the needs are, so we’re excited to have a bunch of other organizations out there, see those needs and say: ‘Oh, we can fill that gap.'”

Additionally, O’Leary says the recovery managers will be able to use the recommendations from the recovery plan, to navigate a cohesive rebuild with homeowners and businesses.

“What will happen is there will be this coordinated recovery plan, that will have the housing, in line with the businesses, in line with the infrastructure; and you have to do it that way to give everything the best chance possible,” said O’Leary.

“Otherwise it is chicken and the egg — Businesses will start, they won’t have labour or clients or customers and they will go bankrupt or you try to get people back and they can’t shop locally and nobody will want to move back.”

He suggests the recovery managers, in addition to the recovery plan, will give businesses and homeowners a sense of certainty to rebuild in Lytton.

“When you look at all of the businesses and people that want to come back, they are looking for certainty. That is something we can actually give them with these recovery managers. They can see a plan and see things are kind of happening. Then we will communicate more clearly going forward as well, to make sure that message gets through.”

The goal for the village this summer is to get as much cleanup work done as possible to allow rebuild work to begin.