Lytton British Columbia - Investigators in British Columbia have zeroed in on two areas of interest for the cause of a fire that razed the village of Lytton.
 
RCMP said in a news release Monday that investigators completed a "fulsome search" of an area near Lytton that is about one kilometre in radius.
 
A two-kilometre area in the nearby community of Boston Bar was also searched where physical and digital forensic evidence was collected and witnesses were interviewed, they said.
 
Police are now focusing on a parking lot and park area that provides access to a foot and rail bridge across the Fraser River, looking for all movements of people, vehicles, and train traffic around the time the fire started on 30 Jun 2021.
 
Eric Stubbs, an RCMP assistant commissioner in the B.C. division, said while they have made significant progress over the last 12 days, the exact cause has not yet been determined.
 
"We have heard the concerns of those impacted and understand the importance of having answers around how and why the fire started. There are still a number of ongoing tasks and forensic analysis that needs to be completed," he said.
 
Residents had just minutes to leave as the fire swept through the village and nearby First Nations communities.
 
Mounties said the Transportation Safety Board investigation into the possibility that a freight train set off the fire is a separate probe, running parallel to the RCMP search for a cause.
 
Two people were killed in the Lytton fire and all others reported missing have been found, although the RCMP release said it's aware that there may be people unaccounted for, and they're asking the public to report anyone missing.
 
Author unknown.