File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Suspicious Fires

Kamloops RCMP, KFR looking into half-dozen suspicious fires over the past week

Apr 14, 2023 | 3:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops RCMP have added another two fires to a series of suspicious blazes under investigation in recent days.

In a news release issued Friday (April 14), detachment spokesperson Cpl. Crystal Evelyn says the latest pair of fires took place Wednesday night on the North Shore.

At about 10:25 p.m. Wednesday, Kamloops Fire Rescue requested police assistance at a grass fire at the north end of the Overlanders Bridge. KFR members were already on scene at the time, attending to a grass fire not far away.

Then at 10:55 p.m., firefighters extinguished another blaze inside a fenced compound in the 500-block of Tranquille Road.

“Luckily, no one was injured and no property was damaged, but the fires could be related due to the timing, proximity, and a person of interest observed in the area,” said Evelyn.

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Witnesses near both fires provided similar suspect descriptions — a man dressed in black clothing and wearing a white cap.

“We are reaching out to the public to help us identify the man in the white hat and dark clothing, and to request that they contact police with any information, photos, or videos that may help further the investigation,” said Evelyn.

In the past week, RCMP have been alerted to a list of suspicious fires:

• In the bushes near Battle Street and Second Avenue (April 6, around 11:30 p.m.)
• The rear deck of a business in the 400-block of Victoria Street (April 7, between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m.)
• A shopping car on fire in the 1300-block of Columbia Street West (April 7, around 11:10 p.m.)
• A vehicle on fire on McGill Road (April 10, around 4:00 a.m.)

Anyone who sees someone trying to illegally start a fire is encouraged to call 9-1-1, no matter how small the fire may be.