Kamloops man calls for punishment after witnessing huge bonfire on North Shore

Aug 21, 2018 | 10:21 AM

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops North Shore resident thinks something more should have been done to punish the man who lit a large bonfire in a nearby vacant lot Saturday.

Jeremy James was riding his bicycle home from work in the 300-block of Tranquille Road Saturday evening when he noticed a bonfire on a vacant property.

It was the same day that wildfire smoke was the thickest in the city.

VIDEO: (Courtesy Jeremy James)

“There was a lot of smoke coming from (the bonfire). I stopped on my bike and I was asking the guy, ‘What the eff are you doing?’ He said, ‘Oh I’m putting it out, I’m putting it out.’ He was putting logs and sticks and grass and everything in there,” said James.

The man feeding the fire appeared to be of no fixed address, according to James.

“I call 911. The fire truck comes by and puts the fire out, but he’s like, ‘Oh I’m putting it out, I’m putting it out.’ But he’s the one who started it. He’s the one who was feeding the fire and everything, and they just let him walk off on that whole night, pretty much.”

Considering the fire danger and the amount of smoke the blaze was generating, James feels the man should have faced charges.

“They let him walk right back to the road. They even asked him who started, and he was like, ‘I have no idea, I have no idea.’ He just wandered down to the road. He had a grocery cart and a mountain bike with him and they let him wander off.”

Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says police were called to the scene.

Shelkie says when officers arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by Kamloops Fire Rescue, and there were no suspects on scene.

KFR Chief Mike Adams couldn’t speak to this incident in particular, but says firefighters have a particular protocol when they deal with fires potentially set by the city’s homeless population.

“Our overall goal is public safety. If there was a fire in a confined area, we would extinguish the fire and address situation appropriately with our accompanying officers who are trained to deal with those incidents,” said Adams.

“It could be an opportunity for education. It may require enforcement. It may require assistance from other agencies. It’s very incident dependent.”