Big Lake, B.C. man charged with $65K worth of stolen property near wildfire evacuations

A 38-year-old man is facing charges after police found $65,000 worth of property stolen from wildfire evacuees.

After getting reports of theft in the wildfire evacuated areas, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC) stepped up their policing and focused their efforts on suspected stash sites.

READ MORE: BC RCMP arrest 10 for looting, re-deploy 300 officers to help with wildfires

As a result, the CFSEU-BC, Burnaby RCMP Strike Force, BC Conservation and RCMP Serious Organized Crime Unit found roughly $65,000 in heavy equipment on a remote property in the Beaver Creak area, just outside of Williams Lake.

Shane Brady, a resident of Big Lake was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property. He is currently in custody until his next court date on July 20.

More than 300 BC RCMP officers have been re-deployed to help with the wildfires burning across the province.

“Some of the duties our officers are tasked with, other than regular policing, include 24-hour patrolling of the evacuated areas,” said Commanding officer Brenda Butterworth-Carr.

She said 10 people have been arrested for break and enter in the 100 Mile House and Williams Lake area.

BC RCMP said they will be regularly assessing resource deployment based upon emerging needs.

“We are in constant communication with our partners provincially as well as additional resources that the provincial government has requested to attend to the province,” Butterworth-Carr said.

FULL COVERAGE: B.C. wildfires

Fire activity in the region ramped up considerably on Saturday night due to the weather system that moved through.

“The cause of the growth in the last few days has definitely been due to the winds,” said fire information officer Max Birkner.

~ with files from Estefania Duran and Janet Brown