A fire on West Seymour Street burned a fence and part of a tree Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Firefighters doused a fire in downtown Kamloops last night, following a rash of other suspicious fires over the past few weeks.

The blaze was the third this spring in the landscaped space between West Seymour and West Victoria streets, but it did the most damage so far.

The charred remains of a fence, a clothing basket and other items remained at the scene Wednesday morning, May 17. A tree in the fenced yard was also damaged in the fire.

Kamloops Fire Rescue did not return a phone call from iNFOnews.ca, but Kamloops RCMP say police were called around 10:37 p.m. Police said firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly and it's now being treated as suspicious.

A nearby neighbour is concerned about a possible connection with other ongoing arson investigations in the city.

"If it was winter and -27 outside, I'd understand, but this almost seems intentional," she said.

The neighbour added she frequently crosses paths with the groups that linger in that area, who are often respectful.

The area is a common spot to see homeless people gathered during the day, no matter the season, and some leave their mark with graffiti on a wooden fence.

However, she doesn't believe last night's fire was a simple campfire with summer approaching and overnight temperatures nearing 20 Celsius.

The latest fire comes after RCMP began investigating five potential dumpster arsons downtown, including one on Monday night and another in North Kamloops Tuesday morning. There have been other suspicious fires in the city in recent weeks, including multiple torched vehicles in Aberdeen and Knutsford this past weekend.

— This story was updated at 3:42 p.m., May 17, 2023, to include information from Kamloops RCMP.

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