B.C. government marks 5 years since heat dome killed hundreds

VANCOUVER — A stifling heat dome that sat over much of British Columbia five years ago is being remembered by the provincial health officer as traumatic for people who lost loved ones and overwhelming for those trying to care for those affected.

More than 600 people died during the first provincewide heat dome in 2021, but Dr. Bonnie Henry says it will not be the last such event.

Henry says in a statement that most of the people who died during the period between June 25 and July 1 lived alone and weren’t able to keep cool inside their homes.

She says her thoughts are with those who live with trauma from the event and knows of the “tremendous effect” on people who lost loved ones and for the first responders and health-care workers who were overwhelmed with people needing help.

A B.C. coroner’s death review released the next year says 619 people died during the heat event and many of them lived in poverty or had mobility and cognitive issues that made it hard for them to access cooling areas.

Henry says the province launched a heat alert response system and an extreme heat preparedness guide in response to the deaths, which were some of the actions recommended in the death review to prevent future deaths.

The Village of Lytton, B.C., experienced the highest temperature ever measured in Canada during the heat dome at 46.6 C, and was razed by a wildfire the next day, killing two people and destroying most of the community.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2026.

The Canadian Press