Grass fire sparked near auto wreckers

VERNON – About a dozen cars were damaged after a grass fire broke out in Vernon Sunday night. Luckily, they were just scrap vehicles.

Deputy fire chief of operations Jack Blair says a grass fire was sparked sometime around 5:30 p.m. near the 4500 block of 31 Street, just south of the Village Green Mall. A black column of smoke could be seen drifting up from the area.

"The grass is very, very dry right now," Blair says.

The fire spread to an auto wreckers yard and ignited about a dozen scrap metal cars. About 20 Vernon firefighters were able to quickly knock down the blaze.

The fire department is investigating the cause of the fire.

"It appears there may be a transient camp nearby," Blair says. "There were no (cook) stoves any where. It could have been a cigarette butt. We don't know at this point."

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.