NOT ARSON, RAILROAD SPARKS
Lytton wildfire lawsuit filed against CP, CN Rail
Posted Aug 18, 2021
The notice of civil claim was filed Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court
The plaintiff is taking legal action claiming negligence on the part of the railroad companies
The cause of the Lytton Creek Wildfire is still under investigation by the TSB
LYTTON (NEWS 1130) — A Lytton resident is filing a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court against Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
The plaintiff, Carel Moiseiwitsch, claims trains are to be blamed for the Lytton Creek Wildfire which destroyed 90 per cent of the village on June 30.
The majority of homes, businesses, and buildings were left to ashes and rubble, and most essential services were destroyed as a result of the fire. The bodies of two people were pulled from the rubble.
Moiseiwitsch was among those left homeless after the fire and her lawyer is asking the court to certifthe suit as a class action.
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The lawsuit details the plaintiff also believed she was almost killed in the fire, and suffered “psychological injury from proximity to death and loss of her home and life as she knew it,” the lawsuit adds her cat was killed in the fire.
In addition to claiming CN and CP Rail were negligent, Moiseiwitsch is seeking financial compensation, and that the Lytton Fire be constituted a private and public nuisance.
Moiseiwitsch is a visual artist and operated her business out of her home, and lost business records and electronic equipment in the fire.
The fire is believed to be human-caused but officials have not released more details, despite many residents saying they saw a train in the area just before the fire.
Her lawyer, Jason Gratl says they hope to have this case certified as a class action on behalf of victims who can’t afford to sue on their own.
“A significant reason for bringing a class action proceeding rather than an individual proceeding is to modify the behaviour of the defendant, to instill a sense of corporate responsibility,” he said.
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada is investigating to see if the fire could have been sparked by a freight train. The TSB says that investigation may take up to two years.
In July, Canada’s two major railroad operators were ordered to step up their fire prevention efforts as wildfires continue to scorch British Columbia.
The order requires the companies remove any materials such as vegetation from the tracks. It also makes conductors responsible for spotting and reporting fires on those lines, and makes the companies responsible for ensuring a 60-minute response time to any fires.
The order applies to operations along the stretch of rail line between Kamloops and Boston Bar, and between Kamloops and North Bend on the Thompson and Ashcroft subdivisions. It remains in effect until Oct. 31.
CN Rail has maintained its trains were not linked to the fire and that “CN will offer its full assistance to help authorities identify the causes of this tragic incident.”
CP Rail also denies any link to the fire and has pledged $1 million to the recovery effort for the Fraser Canyon community.
“Based on our review of train records, including contemporaneous video footage, CP has found nothing to indicate that any of CP’s trains or equipment that passed through Lytton caused or contributed to the fire,” the company wrote in a statement.
The companies have 30 days to reply to the notice of civil claim.
With files from Kier Junos, Hana Mae Nassar, and The Canadian Press
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Lytton wildfire lawsuit filed against CP, CN Rail - NEWS 1130 (citynews1130.com)
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