More fires in a West Kelowna, B.C., neighbourhood have residents on heightened alert.
“It’s very scary,” said Sylvia Lavoie. “We do keep an eye out.”
Crews with West Kelowna Fire Rescue jumped into action Monday evening to put out a pair of fires, one at around 5 p.m, the other at 9 p.m.
“They are being treated as suspicious,” West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund told Global News.
Both fires erupted close to one another in the Lower Gellatly area, not far from city hall.
The two fires follow a recent series of fires, including six in a span of less than 24 hours last week, which are believed to have been deliberately set.
“We’ve had a string of fires in that neighbourhood,” Brolund said. “To have two additional fires in that close a time has definitely caused us to go back and investigate further.”
Last week police announced the arrests of two suspects connected to two separate fires.
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However, whether there’s a connection to the latest incidents isn’t known.
“Our staff are working closely with the RCMP again, reviewing the location of all of the fires, the timing and the similarities or dissimilarities between them to determine if they are related or not,” Brolund said.
West Kelowna RCMP did not respond to Global News by publication deadline so it’s not known whether the two suspects who were arrested, both men in their 30s, are in custody or not.
Residents are being advised to remain vigilant and to call 9-1-1 at the first sign of smoke or flames or any suspicious activity.
“All it takes is just one big gust to blow up fire and there would be an incredible amount of people that would be impacted,” said Sarah Coe, who lives in the neighbourhood.
So far, the flames have been knocked down quickly and even though summer is officially over, the fire risk is not
“The conditions are still such that it is very dry and a small fire can spread quickly,” Brolund said.
Brolund assured residents the matter is being taken very seriously.
“I understand the concern of the neighbours and of the public in this particular area and want them to know that we’re doing everything that we can to get to the bottom of this,” he said.
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