A wildfire in West Kelowna, B.C., is once again putting human negligence — or even outright recklessness — in the spotlight.
“I’m frustrated. This fire didn’t have to happen,” said West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund.
The fire broke out Wednesday morning near Smith Creek. Helicopters were quickly deployed as crews from West Kelowna Fire Rescue and BC Wildfire Service moved in fast. Within hours, the flames were under control.
But the danger didn’t end there.
“We were surprised to be called back to the same vicinity again that same afternoon,” said Brolund. “It was not the first fire reigniting. It was a new start.”
The second fire was quickly doused.
Now, RCMP are investigating after multiple witnesses reported seeing people in a UTV discharging fireworks in the area the night before the fires.
“We understand when someone causes a fire by accident — they’re doing something and it gets out of control,” Brolund said. “But there’s no explanation for that here.”
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Both fires are believed to be linked, and both are confirmed to be human-caused.
“It frustrating to hear that people are not smart enough to connect the fact that we are at the peak of wildfire season, yet they go into a wildland urban interface — surrounded by homes, with people sleeping in them — and discharge fireworks.”
This majority of fires this year are believed to be human-caused.
“So far this year, of the 162 fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, about 99 are suspected to be human-caused — that’s about 61 per cent,” said BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Taylor Wallace.
They’re fires that didn’t have to happen.
“We’re asking everyone to do their part and stay diligent when they’re undertaking activities in the backcountry or around their homes,” Wallace said. “It’s important that you do your part to prevent human-caused wildfires.”
Close calls like the Smith Creek fires could have been much worse, Brolund warns.
“The potential was there for this to be a major urban interface fire,” he said. “It was only through the hard work of firefighters from multiple agencies that it didn’t become that.”
RCMP are now asking anyone with information about the wildfire to come forward.
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