Emergency crews responded to at least two suspicious fires in Kamloops over the past week, but it's not clear RCMP have tracked a suspect.
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April 14, 2023 - 3:25 PM
Kamloops firefighters responded to a string of suspicious fires over the past week with the most recent blaze near the Riverdale Trailer Park.
Tall cedar hedges were lit up along Fortune Drive around 10:30 p.m., April 12, just as Kamloops Fire Rescue was already tending to a suspicious grass fire on the other side of the Fortune Drive overpass.
Firefighters made quick work of the second fire and left the scene within 15 minutes, according to fire prevention officer Dean Olstad.
“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,” Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Crystal Evelyn said in a news release.
Another suspicious fire was found April 6 in bushes near Battle Street and 2 Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Kamloops Fire Rescue said there were fires the next night in that area, too.
Olstad said Kamloops RCMP was also there already when firefighters arrived Friday night, April 7.
"RCMP were there interviewing residents," he said. "There was talk of a suspect in the area."
He said police were talking to someone who might have been a suspect, but it's not clear if they took someone into custody and deferred to Kamloops RCMP for more information.
Former city councillor Denis Walsh brought his concerns about the downtown fires and the nearby shelter to city council earlier this week, mentioning he lives just next to the park.
"My wife saw the guy and there was an exchange. He was there four days before starting another fire on our deck," Walsh said.
Olstad said there was no evidence of encampments at either scene.
There were more fires on the rear deck of a business on the 400 block of Victoria Street between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., April 7, a shopping cart blaze around 11:10 p.m. and a vehicle fire on McGill Road around 4 a.m., April 10, just to name a few.
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