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Arson
Suspicious Vernon fires are back
VERNON - A recent spike in suspicious fire activity has the community wondering if Vernon’s alleged serial arsonist is back. The city was hit with over 20 suspected arsons during the summer, from burnt grandstands to torched boats, but there hadn’t been any new fires since September until recently. A construction site suspiciously caught fire...
Second suspicious fire in four days worries Vernon Fire Department
VERNON - Authorities are investigating a second suspicious fire in four days. Firefighters fought a fully engulfed metal recycling bin blaze at the Interior Freight and Bottle Depot on 24 Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. Monday, deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood says. Crews managed to suppress the fire, which was called in by a resident...
RCMP asking for witnesses to come forward in potential arson case
KAMLOOPS - Police are asking members of the public to come forward with any information regarding a suspicious vehicle fire believed to be deliberately set. Officers responded to a report of a burning truck early Friday morning on Nicola Street. Fire damage to the 1992 Dodge W350 pickup truck included a burned rear tire, canopy,...
RCMP investigate car fire at Boyd Autobody
PENTICTON - Police are investigating two arson cases from a local auto body shop, one which was successful in setting a car on fire. RCMP received a call around 4:40 a.m. Friday from a security guard at Boyd Autobody in Penticton. Someone broke into the shop and started a car fire, which has caused smoke...
Future uncertain for Canada’s oldest horse-racing track
VERNON - The future of horse racing in the Interior remains more uncertain thanks to mounting woes for Vernon's troubled Kin Race Track. The society that runs the track has battled for years to keep it open. Already tight on cash from fighting a legal battle with the City of Vernon to continue racing horses...
Major crime investigations interfere with proactive police work
VERNON - A number of time consuming investigations sucked up RCMP resources this summer and meant other crime in the city went unchecked, says Vernon’s top cop. Superintendent Reg Burgess presented a quarterly report to Vernon City Council Monday and said investigations into the city’s alleged serial arsonist, a shooting in Polson Park, fatal motor...
Trio of children arrested for setting fire to elementary school
SALMON ARM - An arson at a Salmon Arm elementary school was made even more troubling by the fact its perpetrators were children. Salmon Arm RCMP arrested a six, eight and 10-year-old in connection with a fire at South Broadview Elementary. The kids were picked up by police shortly after the 1:30 p.m. blaze on...
Oliver home engulfed in flames
OLIVER - A home in Oliver was engulfed in flames early Friday morning. Firefighters were able to take control of the blaze and prevent it from spreading to neighbouring houses. Police said the home at 6036 Station Street was unoccupied and and it does not appear that anyone was hurt. Police are investigating the fire...
Suspicious fire in West Kelowna
WEST KELOWNA – The RCMP are looking for your help to find a couple of young men after a suspicious fire was set in West Kelowna Wednesday night. Firefighters were called to the front entrance of a property in the 3500 block of Elk Road around 10:30 p.m. and quickly put out the fire. RCMP...
Vernon arson case reveals need for video surveillance
VERNON – Fear over where Vernon’s alleged serial arsonist will strike next has pushed the…
Burnt packing bins bad news for fruit growers
VERNON - Hundreds of wooden bins that would have been used in just a short time to pack the North Okanagan apple harvest were damaged or destroyed in what fire officials are calling a suspicious blaze. The 11:30 p.m. fire Monday night at Growers Supply, the sales arm of B.C. Tree Fruits, located in the...
Teen arrested for arson in connection with townhouse fire
VERNON - A teenager has been arrested for arson in connection with a townhouse fire that sent residents fleeing the building. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a 19-year-old man residing in the 44 Street townhouse will appear in court Friday on charges of arson with disregard for human life. Fire officials said the blaze erupted...
Kin Race Track fire considered suspicious
VERNON - Authorities are treating a fire at Kin Race Track as suspicious, just the latest in a long string of dozens of suspicious fires in the community. The Wednesday night blaze destroyed the grandstands overlooking the race track, leaving a charred and unstable structure too dangerous for investigators to enter. “We haven’t even been...
Lions Hall arsonist tells court to hurry up and sentence him
"IT'S RIDICULOUS. I PLED GUILTY." KELOWNA – The man who pleaded guilty to burning the Westbank Lions Hall last September has opted to represent himself in court in an apparent effort to speed sentencing. Kerry Robert Cooper, 30, appeared before a Justice of the Peace via video Thursday morning, saying he didn’t care what the...
Vernon fire crews put out arson fire number 19
VERNON – You can hear the frustration in Capt. Dan Walker’s voice as he talks about Vernon Fire and Rescue crews putting out yet another arson fire in the city. This time someone climbed over the fence at a locked compound behind the Rona Home Centre on 58 Avenue in Vernon’s north end early Saturday...
Suspicious fire near senior care home
KELOWNA – Arson is the suspected cause of a late night fire behind Cottonwoods Care Centre over the weekend. The investigation is in the early stages, but Const. Kris Clark says it looks like a type of fuel was poured onto the ground near a chain link fence that separates Cottonwoods and a private residence...
Authorities investigate grass fire in Vernon park
VERNON - A grass fire in Becker Park does not appear to be the work of Vernon’s serial arsonist. The fire broke out around 10 p.m. Sunday in Becker Park, off 39 Avenue downtown Vernon. “It is totally out of the norm of all the other fires we are investigating,” police spokesperson Gord Molendyk says....
Storage yard latest target in string of suspected arsons
VERNON - Police and the fire department are investigating a suspicious fire at a Vernon storage yard. It is the seventeenth suspected arson under investigation by authorities. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the fire was reported just after midnight Monday morning. The target was a small wooden structure in a storage lot owned by Chapman...
Sheriff’s vehicle set on fire near Vernon courthouse
VERNON - A B.C. Sheriffs car is the latest victim in a series of suspected arsons. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the vehicle was parked on 27 Street near the Vernon Courthouse. The RCMP was alerted to the fire around 10:40 p.m. June 12. “When the police attended they noticed a small fire burning beneath...
Fiery scene considered suspicious
VERNON - A flaming dumpster in Coldstream is the latest in a series of suspicious fires in the area. The Coldstream fire department was dispatched to the Graystone Drive fire around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Six firefighters were at the fire hall that night for training and were able to respond immediately. “As we came down...
A new chapter begins in the storied life of the Hotel El
KELOWNA – After more than a year of aggressive interest and offers from Kelowna real estate development company Argus Properties, Hotel Eldorado owner Jim Nixon decided the time was finally right to sell after 25 years. “They wanted what I wanted,” Nixon says on Argus’ plans for the hotel, marina and restaurant. “It’s a local...
Vernon arson tally continues to climb
VERNON - Fire set to an abandoned house and a pleasure boat has added to the list of suspected arsons within the city. Saturday around midnight, Vernon RCMP were called to a fire in an abandoned house in the 3800 block of 30 Avenue. “The rear of the building was totally engulfed when the fire...
Boat fire in Armstrong could be connected to string of Vernon arsons
VERNON - Police are investigating whether a suspicious boat fire in Armstrong is connected to a rash of suspected arsons in the Vernon area. Emergency personnel were dispatched to 143 L & A Crossing Rd. Saturday around 10:40 p.m. for a report of a boat on fire. “One boat was completely involved and destroyed and...
Arrests made in Vernon arson case
SERIAL ARSON SUSPECT STILL ON THE LOOSE VERNON - Police have made arrests in one of 13 suspected cases of arson in the Vernon area. Two men, aged 24 and 30, were arrested Friday evening for setting fire to some trash behind AJ’s Pets & Things on 31 Avenue. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the...