Over two years after a fire destroyed their community, the Mayor of Lytton says residents are chomping at the bit to begin rebuilding.

Mayor Denise O’Connor says while they received approval last month to begin backfilling some properties that were burned out, some unforeseen issues put the work to a halt.

“We did start some backfilling as a test on the south end of the village, on eight different properties, and as it turns out there were a few hiccups that had to be sorted out,” she said. “So we are ready to go again in the next week or so to continue that work.”

O’Connor says while the delay is a bit disheartening, she says unexpected obstacles are almost inevitable with a project of this size.

“It’s two steps forward and one back, I believe we are making progress, but every day is a new day and we just never know what will greet us in the morning. Some days, we are super optimistic, and other days that frustration merges append.”

Originally, the plan was to have the majority of backfilling complete by the end of the summer, however O’Connor says the delay has pushed the estimated completion date back slightly to mid-fall.

“We are just chomping at the bit to be able to get back and start that rebuilding, but we can’t do that until the backfilling and the compacting of soil is finished,” she explained.

“Those are the things that have to get done to turn the properties over to the owners.”

O’Connor says the best-case scenario is that backfilling and compacting soil is complete by October, which would give the green light for rebuild work to get underway.