(Image Credit: Facebook / Scott Nelson)

By James Peters

Business Fire

Fire that damaged Williams Lake Surplus Herby’s Monday believed to be deliberately set

Mar 10, 2026 | 11:40 AM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The manager of the Surplus Herby’s location in Williams Lake says a fire that heavily damaged her store is just the latest in a series of nuisance fires across the community.

Flames broke out in the loading dock at the rear of the Mackenzie Avenue building early Monday morning (March 9).

Manager Sasha Bazelinski says the fire spread to the roof and into the warehouse before firefighters could knock it down.

“Our warehouse took the brunt of the damage,” Bazelinski told CFJC Today Tuesday. “The fire did start to travel along in between our roof and our ceiling. Unfortunately, the firefighters did have to cut a lot of our ceiling in order to gain control of the fire to make sure it didn’t spread further throughout the store.”

(Image Credit: Sasha Bazelinski)

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While no definitive cause of the fire has been made clear, several factors lead Bazelinski to believe it was deliberately set.

“Unfortunately, there were no cameras where the fires took place but the town, right now, is having a problem with people starting fires. We are highly suspicious of that, just in the way the fire started, what was used to start the fire and where the [material was ignited]. It was deliberately put on our loading dock, in front of that big bay door.”

The store’s owners are working with RCMP investigators and insurance officials to determine next steps.

In the meantime, the store is closed, employees are cleaning up as much as they can and Bazelinski is connecting with customers.

“We have quite a few regular customers. We’re quite busy in the community,” she said. “We support a lot of people, so I’m just speaking with everyone, letting them know we’re doing our very best to get back up and going as quickly as possible. We miss it. We like what we do – we like what we’re able to provide for the community.”

Bazelinski credits Williams Lake firefighters for their quick response Monday, preventing the fire from causing more severe damage.