Two fires discovered by Burns Lake RCMP officers const. Mike Young and const. Donald Gunn during the course of their regular area patrols in the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2013 are still under investigation.
Two large piles of wood debris were set on fire in the Eagle Creek area, off one of the Guyishton Creek area forest service roads.
“We found the fires in the area where the lost berry picker was found a while ago,” said const. Young. “There were two large bonfires of deadfall, with beer cans and food in the area.”
The constables were alerted to the fire by a thick plume of smoke visible from the highway. Once they determined the location of the fire, the Burns Lake Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department was notified and responded.
Wet ground meant that the fires were left to smoulder for the evening and Wildfire Management Branch was informed and investigated the next day.
The fires were too large to be able to tell if an accelerant was used to ignite the wet piles, but there was enough evidence collected on scene to allow the RCMP to maintain an open file.
Local RCMP are waiting for surveillance information from other enforcement areas that may tie evidence found on scene to a driver and license plate.
Anyone that has any information regarding this fire should contact Burns Lake detachment RCMP at 250-692-7171.