The 100 Mile House RCMP have arrested an individual suspected of causing a wildland fire behind 100 Mile Fire Rescue on Monday, May 5.
Sgt. Trevor Medernach said that on May 5, one of his officers, who was about to go off duty, responded to a report of smoke behind the detachment. On investigation, Medernach said this officer discovered a fire in the initial stages of being started.
"He ended up identifying a suspect. That suspect was arrested. A supplemental investigation resulted in the suspect being held in custody and being transported out of the community," Medernach said. "He is not known to the area, and the obvious safety concerns in this day and age with fires was very real."
100 Mile Fire Rescue chief Dave Bissat told the simplymastery on Tuesday the fire grew to around 100 by 50 feet. Thankfully, however, firefighters were able to establish a wetline around the fire and extinguish it.
Medernach said Bissat had reported that the same individual RCMP arrested for starting the fire had been burning a stump in another incident to cook some food. While that fire did not spread like Monday's fire, it does show a pattern of behaviour.
"Based on the evidence, we believe (the fire) to be intentional, hence why we held him in custody and put him before a judge," Medernach said. "Sherrifs have transported him out to the regional correctional centre as of Tuesday."
The suspect is facing some criminal mischief charges at this time. Medernach noted the fire didn't get into any residential properties but said RCMP still take incidents like these very seriously.
"Always be aware and call. Be the first person to call or be the tenth person to call. We find a lot of incidents go unreported to the police in the first instance because they believe somebody else has called already," Medernach said. "If it seems suspicious, it probably is suspicious, so we don't mind taking those calls, and we appreciate people helping us out there."
The 100 Mile House RCMP can be contacted at 250-395-2456.
