A Lytton resident thanks firemen for saving the animals she had to abandon when she left.

Four days after a horrific wildfire devastated their farm and the hamlet around them, a couple in Lytton, British Columbia, is pleased to learn that their animals are alive and in the care of local firemen. "I can't say enough wonderful things about the firefighters; given what they're going through right now, they're just amazing." Tricia Thorpe told that she was relieved to learn that firemen were able to feed and water her animals this weekend.

Thorpe and her husband evacuated Lytton on Wednesday evening, before the fire spread through the town, destroying their home. On Friday, the couple learned that three of their dogs, seven puppies, alpacas, and lambs had survived the fast-moving fire. "It was miraculous since we thought we'd lost them all," she said. "Except for the few remaining animals, everything has vanished. They're the only ones we have left."

Thorpe claims that another issue developed after that: how to keep them fed or have them removed from the region because no one was allowed inside what remained of the settlement at the time owing to dangerous conditions. When Thorpe learned that a commercial operation near her farm had been granted permission to take its animals to safety, she called the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) to inquire why she couldn't do the same.

Thorpe said she contacted the SPCA for assistance, but they were all told the same thing - they weren't allowed in the village yet. In a final desperate attempt, she decided to seek out the Lyttonites Facebook group for assistance.