KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Fire Rescue has confirmed the official cause of a wildfire that scorched 545 hectares on the Tk’emlups Reserve earlier this month.
The East Shuswap Road fire sparked on July 12, spreading quickly and threatening homes, leading to a brief evacuation.
Today, Chief Fire Prevention Officer Dean Olstad confirmed the blaze was ignited by workers doing a renovation on a home.
“The workers there, using a gas-powered cutoff saw, cutting some angle wire and the sparks from that process got into the grass and the bushes, starting the fire,” said Olstad.
“When the fire crews first arrived on scene, it was quite easy to determine that. The workers were still on site. They had tried to put it out themselves and when they realized they couldn’t, they phoned 911.”
Olstad says it’s important people doing work like this pay attention to their surroundings.
“When any type of work like this is being done, either by a contractor or by a homeowner, the BC fire code speaks to this. Any type of cutting, welding or grinding is considered ‘hot works.’ There are some precautions that should be taken when performing that type of work. Ideally, we’d want to have the work done 15 metres away from any type of combustibles.”
