Floods, Fires, COVID-19, and Unmarked Graves; The stories of 2021
Greg Lowis/City of Merritt
Dec 31, 2021 | 5:11 AM
Vern Strecheniuk
Four major stories dominated the headlines in 2021, both across Canada and B.C. But also locally in Merritt.
The biggest story in Canada, as voted by the CP, was the discovery of 215 unmarked graves on the site of the former residential school in Kamloops. While the story was focused out of Kamloops, the ripples of the discovery stretched across the nation and beyond.
In Merritt, local first nation leaders and elders were brave enough to share their stories with Q101 about the residential school system.
Upper Nicola Chief Harvey McLeod’s statement following the discovery of “I didn’t realize how strong I was. I was strong because I came home. I didn’t know that till this afternoon,” remains one of the most powerful moments of 2021.
Chief McLeod attended the Kamloops Residential School and his story can be read here;
Kamloops residential school survivor Chief McLeod ‘We always knew that this was happening’
Local Elder, and residential school survivor, Arnie Narcisse wrote a song to commemorate the 215 lost children, but also questioned the B.C’s governments commitment to reconciliation.
Kamloops residential school survivor pens song to the 215 children
The environment takes the lead for two major stories in B.C and Merritt in 2021, starting with the devastating wildfire season, and concluding with the floods that forced the community to evacuate in November. While not local, B.C also saw the first tornado in five decades hit Vancouver this year.
June 30th, 2021 is a day many in B.C. Will never forget. Following days of record setting heat, the Village of Lytton would be burnt to the ground in mere minutes as a wildfire aided by strong winds swept through the town. Six months later, many residents of Lytton have still not be allowed back into the community to begin rebuilding their homes and lives.
The Lytton wildfire would continue to burn for months, with the City of Merritt forced to issue an evacuation alert for the entire community on August 15, 2021. Thankfully the city would not be evacuated due to fire, sadly, communities West of Merritt along highway 8 were not as lucky with Lower Nicola, Shackan, and Nooiatch Bands forced to evacuate in the summer due to fire activity.
Mother Nature wasn’t done with B.C as following the wildfire season, the province was battered by heavy rains, causing flooding and landslides.
The heavy rains saw the Coldwater River through Merritt breach its banks and force the entire community to evacuate in November.
The community is still working to rebuild with multiple homes still considered uninhabitable.
Not to be forgotten is the story that’s been dominating headlines for nearly two years now, COVID-19.
The COVID story was a positive one in early 2021, with vaccines rolling out across Canada and cases slowly dropping, however late in the year, the new omicron variant surfaced and forced the government to put public health restrictions back in place.
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