RCMP seek public info on seven suspicious fires Friday night
By Trail Champion
Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue crews were kept busy Friday night with seven suspicious wildland fires, according to Cpt. Grant Tyson.
Tyson said the initial call came in at 11:27 p.m., to Riverside and Columbia Avenues, and six Trail firefighters responded.
“Station 374 received a call for a brush fire near the 1900 block of Columbia Avenue,” he said in a press release. “Once (we) arrived on scene, we were directed to fires across the river on Riverside Avenue, and three more up Columbia Avenue. In total, we responded to seven separate fires with one engine and one tender.”
In a subsequent interview, KBRFR Fire Chief Dan Derby said they believe the fires to be related.
“Absolutely. You don’t get seven different fires in the same area for no reason,” he said. “They were smaller, dumpster-sized fires.
“It’s a good thing it happened at night instead of in the heat of the day, with lower humidity.”
No property was damaged as a result of the fires.
Trail top cop RCMP Sgt. Mike Wicentowich said police are asking for the public’s assistance, should anyone have any information or witnessed anyone in the area at the time.
“There’s a male who was riding a white bike in the area, and we’re looking for this person,” he said. “We’d like to speak to him and see if he saw anything.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Trail detachment at 250-364-2566.
The public is also encouraged to remember that wildfire season is upon us and conditions are very dry, making the danger of wildfires significant and immediate.
