The fire that destroyed most of a Kamloops home on Gleneagles Drive yesterday afternoon, April 27, 2023, started as a nearby grassfire.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Zie Thomas
April 28, 2023 - 4:30 PM
Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked a fire that tore through a Kamloops home Thursday afternoon.
What's known so far is that it started as a grassfire near the home before torching easily-combustible cedar trees and the inside of the building, according to Kamloops Fire Rescue chief Ken Uzeloc.
"Any time you've got external fires we consider those suspicious because there's generally not really good evidence of ignition sources," he said. "For example, look at the Strathcona fire, there was a evidence of a campfire. We didn't have that here."
That fire tore through Strathcona Park on the West End earlier this month and investigators believe a campfire started the blaze before it took out power lines and threatened nearby homes.
Police, Kamloops Fire Rescue and BC Wildfire Service worked together to investigate the source of the Gleneagles Drive house fire on April 27 and believe it was human-caused, Uzeloc said.
"Just because it's people-started doesn't necessarily mean it's intentional," he added.
The two-alarm fire had burned through the roof by the time firefighters arrived yesterday afternoon. One resident was inside the house and managed to escape. Two cats were rescued, but one dog remains "unaccounted for," Uzeloc said.
Crews worked inside the home and out to prevent it from spreading to nearby townhouses. The siding of one nearby building was melted from the heat.
Uzeloc said something as small as a cigarette butt or sunlight amplified through broken glass could have started the fire, which was then stoked by wind blowing up the hill.
He reminded residents that dry conditions and a warm upcoming weekend means there is a high fire risk in Kamloops and the surrounding area.
"With temperatures expected to be in the high 20 degrees into this weekend, we are asking all users of our natural spaces and parks to be cautious with their activities and behaviours. Ensure you are practising fire safety in these areas and report any signs of smoke or fire," he said in an April 27 news release.
It was one of several grass fires in Kamloops this month.
Kamloops Fire Rescue was called to an encampment on April 26 for a morning burning complaint near Schubert Drive, which appears to have spread beyond the campfire's boundaries. Platoon Captain Jim Gorman told iNFOnews.ca that fire was relatively minor and campers were reminded fires are not allowed within the city.
Police and Kamloops Fire Rescue have also been investigating several other suspicious fires beginning April 6. Fires were sparked downtown and on the North Shore.
No one has been charged in any of the recent suspicious fire investigations.
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