Canada US heatwave: Aerial photos reveal wildfire ‘war zone’ as ‘heat dome’ kills hundreds

Follow live updates below

Satellite video of 'firestorm' over Canada cause 700,000 lightning strikes in one night

A town in British Columbia which experienced record-high temperatures earlier this week has been largely destroyed by wildfire, with at least two deaths reported.

Lytton endured highs of 49.6 C on Tuesday, the day before 1,000 residents from the area were forced to flee their homes because of the encroaching flames.

A couple in their 60s who took cover from the fire died after a power pole collapsed and fell onto them, according to the Vancouver Sun.

By Thursday afternoon, most homes and buildings in Lytton were ruined, said Mike Farnworth, British Columbia’s safety minister.

The British Columbia Wildfire Service reported that the Lytton wildfire was burning out of control over an area of approximately 30 square miles.

Referring to the damage wrought by the flames, John Haugen, acting chief of Lytton First Nation, said: “It was like a war zone last night.”

The wildfires were sparked by an unprecedented heatwave across western Canada and the US, which is believed to have killed hundreds of people in British Columbia and the American states of Oregon and Washington.

Key Points

• Flames destroy town at heart of Canada’s heatwave
• Two reported dead in Canadian wildfire
• Almost 100 wildfires rage through British Columbia
• Heatwave causes Washington state’s largest glacier melt in a century

[2 July 2021 11:05 · Rory Sullivan]

Hundreds feared dead in heatwave in US and Canada

Hundreds are thought to have died as a result of extreme heat in the US and Canada over the last week.

President Joe Biden and Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau have warned that the intense conditions are not a one-off.

“We’ve been seeing more and more of this type of extreme weather event in the past years,” Mr Trudeau said on Wednesday. “So realistically, we know that this heatwave won’t be the last.”

In the US, Mr Biden reiterated this message, saying climate change was driving “a dangerous confluence of extreme heat and prolonged drought”.

Our senior climate correspondent Louise Boyle has this round-up of events:

[2 July 2021 11:25 · Rory Sullivan]

Guatemalan labourer in Oregon among heatwave dead

Sebastian Francisco Perez died the day after his 38th birthday.

The Guatemalan immigrant was working in rural Oregon when he collapsed on 26 June during the heatwave.

Paramedics were unable to revive him, with his death underscoring the dangers farm workers face in the current conditions.

His nephew, Pedro Lucas, who lost two of his cousins in a car accident in Oregon in 2019, told AP: “I don’t understand the things that sometimes happen.”

[2 July 2021 11:45 · Rory Sullivan]

Video: Forest fire destroys British Columbia town

Ninety per cent of the Canadian town of Lytton has been destroyed by a wildfire.

Here is a video showing the devastation wrought by the flames:

[2 July 2021 12:05 · Rory Sullivan]

Sign up to our weekly Climate Newsletter

Recent events in the US and Canada show the devastating impact climate change is having on our world.

For those who haven’t already, sign up to Louise Boyle’s weekly newsletter to keep up-to-date with all the latest climate news:

[2 July 2021 12:25 · Rory Sullivan]

Satellite image shows extent of wildfire around Lytton, British Columbia

[2 July 2021 12:45 · Rory Sullivan]

Record temperature verified in Antarctica

Another temperatures record has been broken - this time in Antarctica.

The World Meteorological Organization has verified that highs of 18.3C occurred there on 6 February this year.

The temperature was recorded at an Argentinian station based on the continent.

[2 July 2021 12:47 · Emma Snaith]

Join our live Q&A on the heatwave and wildfires across the US and Canada

Do you have any questions about the heatwave and wildfires raging across the US and Canada? Join our senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle for a live Q&A LIVE at 1pm

Submit your questions in the comments section in the link below and join us then

[2 July 2021 13:05 · Rory Sullivan]

Grocery stores pull perishable food due to heatwave

Food shops in Washington state have pulled perishable products from their shelves due to the heatwave, Business Insider has reported.

This comes as parts of Oregon and Washington broke temperature records earlier this week.

One store in Mill Creek, Washington, had to stop selling dairy and meat products, according to a Fox News affiliate in Seattle.

[2 July 2021 13:20 · Rory Sullivan]

Our heatwave and wildfires Q&A is live

Please tune in here to ask our senior climate correspondent Louise Boyle questions about the climate crisis in North America:

[2 July 2021 13:40 · Rory Sullivan]

Canadian town ‘like war zone’ after wildfire

The Canadian town of Lytton resembles a “war zone” after being gutted by wildfire, one of its leaders has said.

Most of it has been destroyed by flames, including the city centre and the health centre, with rail and highway infrastructure damaged.

Describing the town, John Haugen, acting chief of Lytton First Nation, said: “It was like a war zone last night.”