Some evacuees fleeing a fast-moving wildfire near Lytton had to do so on foot.
With the Lytton Ferry closed due to high river levels, the only way for many forced to flee the Nohomin Creek blaze is a pedestrian bridge.
The fire was first reported on Thursday afternoon across the Fraser River from the Village of Lytton. It then ballooned in size and was an estimated 1,500 hectares by Friday night.
When the fire was first spotted at about 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, it was very small.
Lytton resident Jimmy Adams, who saw the blaze grow, described it as "just a small piece of smoke" at first.
"Then the next thing you know it's just gone," he said. "It came down that ridge already when I left at 2 o'clock."
There are rough roads connecting the west side with Boston Bar to the south and Lillooet to the north, but area residents say many have left on foot.
“They’re all walking out,” Lytton resident Terry Weekley told Castanet.
“A lot of them, with the high water, have second vehicles that they park … just beside the train tracks. Then they walk across the bridge then get into their car and escape.
“There’s not a lot of ways to get out on that side of the river when things go to hell and the ferry’s out. So it’s a big concern.”
Adams lost his house in last year's fire. He said Thursday felt like deja vu.
"It's like, 'Dang,' you know? 'This is happening again?'" he said.
"We thought the west side was lucky [last year] because it didn't burn down."
On Friday, a Lytton First Nations deputy chief said at least six homes have been destroyed by the Nohmin Creek fire.
