UPDATE: Arson suspected in recent Kamloops grassfires

Rain is a welcome reprieve this morning as Kamloops firefighters extinguished two grassfires — now suspected to be caused by arson — within hours of each other, a day earlier.

On July 8, a West End park went up in flames for the second time in less than two weeks. This morning, July 9, police said it was likely arson.

“We are treating this incident as suspicious and have identified a person of interest in relation to this fire,” Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dana Napier said in a July 9 news release.

Police are also investigating whether the fire is connected to any of the previous grassfires, but photos posted to social media Tuesday suggest a man was seen leaving the scene just as the Strathcona fire started.

iNFOnews.ca hasn’t been able to reach the person who posted the photos. Kamloops Fire Rescue has not responded to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The fire was knocked down quickly, but firefighters responded to a riverside fire in the Dallas neighbourhood later the same day, several kilometres away from the downtown park.

The two blazes follow three others. The last Strathcona Park fire was June 27, while a Rose Hill area fire lit up July 6 and another at Peterson Creek approached Royal Inland Hospital before it was knocked down June 26. Police did not say whether the other fires are believed to be intentionally set.

— This story was updated with information from Kamloops RCMP at 10:43 a.m., July 9, 2025.