The shed fire sent smoke plumes visible across much of Kamloops on July 23, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

A scorched Kamloops shed was a frequent hang out for squatters for months before Tuesday's fire.

Several neighbours told iNFOnews.ca people had been using the shed for months as the Elm Avenue home sits vacant and boarded up.

None of the four women provided their names, but one who lived across the street from the blaze said authorities, including bylaw and police, have been called to the home to address trespassers in the shed for more than a year.

The Elm Avenue fire on the morning of July 23 spread from shed to a cedar hedge then to the next door home quickly, but firefighters managed to douse it before spreading to the house.

Neighbours said squatters frequented the shed behind the vacant North Kamloops home.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Next door neighbour Rob, who didn't provide his last name, said no one was injured but they're now forced to find a new home after the attic was damaged. There was enough smoke and water damage, along with the exposed and burnt attic, that they will be forced out of the house.

The fire is a good example of the risks posed by cedar hedges, Kamloops Fire Rescue's life safety educator Jeff Pont said. The cause of the fire will be difficult, if at all possible, to determine because the evidence was torched.

He said the fire department has been to the house three times just this year, but Pont wouldn't comment specifically on the presence of squatters at the house.

Kamloops fire chief and protective services director Ken Uzeloc said the property owner could face enforcement action through the City's nuisance property bylaw. It's not clear whether past action has been taken.

The house, just off from the Tranquille Road corridor, is for sale and advertised as a "prime development lot."

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