(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

A homeless Kamloops man had his arson charge dropped today after he lit a fire trying to stay warm last year.

Steven Michael Hodgins, 35, started a small fire along the wall at Valleyview Mini Storage in February 2022. A woman spotted him around 8:30 a.m. trying to light a pile of wood chips and called Kamloops RCMP. He caused about $500 in damage before he was arrested. 

Police found Hodgson with soot on his hands and scorched pants. He was carrying fentanyl and a butane torch when he was arrested that morning, Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet said in Kamloops provincial court, Jan. 26.

READ MORE: More shelter spaces needed as Kamloops, Kelowna deal with homeless fires

"When the officer approached him and asked what he was doing, he said he was homeless and that he was cold," Goulet told the court.

He was facing a charge for arson and another for mischief, but his arson charge was stayed.

Hodgson called into his hearing from jail, where he has been held since Dec. 7.

Judge Stella Frame settled on a time-served sentence, followed by 12 months of probation.

"He's homeless and trying to keep warm. It's certainly not the safest way to keep warm, but there's some compassion for sure," Goulet said.

READ MORE: Kelowna fire burns down homeless camp

Defence lawyer Eric Rines said Hodgson has been on and off drugs for about two decades, and after some success with sobriety, he relapsed again a year-and-a-half ago.

Hodgson was living in a stable home at the time, but eventually fell back into homelessness. He's now trying to live as a "functional addict" as he tries to find work and regain a stable life, Rines told the court.

One of Hodgson's probation conditions includes living at a specific address and letting his probation officer know if that changes, which he said is going to be difficult.

"I go to the shelter frequently and they're full," Hodgson said.

Frame decided gave him the option to check in with probation within three days each time he changes his address, so he can avoid a breach.

Hodgson is not the only homeless person starting fires in an effort to keep warm in Kamloops.

Both Kamloops and Kelowna have seen fires suspected to be lit by people who are homeless in recent months, with some of those blazes growing out of control.

An encampment burned down in Kelowna in October. In Kamloops, a large fire destroyed multiple shopping carts and scorched the side of a North Shore business in December.

Another fire claimed a life in Kamloops when a man who might have lit a fire to keep warm in a small shed was found dead in the morning. Kamloops RCMP didn't release many details about the October blaze or the man's death, but a nearby restaurant owner said people that are homeless people were frequently seen around the shed.

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