Crews are mopping up a suspicious wildfire near Vernon that came alarmingly close to homes Wednesday night.
“The fire [was] about 35 feet in front of one home,” said BX/Swan Lake Fire Chief Bill Wacey.
Wacey said the blaze threatened several homes in the area, but no one was evacuated.
“With the winds it could have been potentially catastrophic if in fact we weren’t able to get a handle on it,” said Wacey.
The fire started about 2.5 kilometers north east of Swan Lake and grew to about 1.5 hectares.
At this point crews believe the fire was deliberately set.
“There were three starts along the side of the road,” said Wacey.
The RCMP is now investigating.
It’s the latest in a series of suspicious fires in the BX/Swan Lake area over the summer. Wacey said nine fires are being investigated as possibly arson.
BX/Swan Lake, Armstrong and B.C. Wildfire Service crews battled the flames.
Two helicopters bucketed water on the flames along with four skimmers, B.C. Wildfire Service spokesperson Kelsey Winter said.
B.C. Wildfire crews were called off Thursday morning, and BX/Swan Lake firefighters finished dousing hot spots by the afternoon.