The person suspected to be behind one of several suspicious North Okanagan fires was arrested this week.
A suspicious fire in a dumpster behind a business along the 16500 block of Kalamalka Road in Coldstream broke out on Tuesday, July 9, at approximately 1 a.m., with police and firefighters responding.
“One avenue of investigation our officers immediately undertake is to identify locations with CCTV in the vicinity of the crime,” Cpl Tania Finn said in a press release.
“Our investigators tracked down video surveillance, which led police to identify the suspect.”
Finn said the suspect was tracked down on Sunday, July 14 and placed him under arrest. With a search warrant at the suspect’s residence, they were able to seize evidence to support the investigation.
A 37-year-old Vernon man is charged with mischief under $5,000 and failure to comply with a probation order. He remains in custody pending his next court appearance.
There have been several suspicious fires in the area of late and whether this suspect has anything to do with those remains to be seen.
On May 24, the Coldstream Fire Department responded to a burning tree stump in Creekside Park. They later responded to two suspicious fires near Cosen’s Bay on June 12.
The fourth fire occurred on July 4. After receiving reports of smoke coming from a wooded ravine area, front-line officers and the Coldstream Fire Department fought a bush fire in the 9700 block of Coldstream Creek Road.
“These incidents are highly concerning and extremely dangerous to public safety,” said Finn in an earlier press release. “It wouldn’t have taken much for any of these fires to spread out of control and jeopardize nearby properties.”
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