A new group of trained cause and origin wildfire investigators will help British Columbia deal with a rash of arson-caused fires.
From Canada.com:
The province will be better prepared to handle fire investigations in B.C.’s backcountry this summer, says a senior investigator with the Ministry of Forests and Range.
Twenty-five additional origin and cause wildland fire investigators completed provincial training last week, bringing their total to 65. Vancouver Island will see one of the investigators stationed in the Campbell River area. The Island has 10 investigators in total.
The Coastal Fire Centre spent nearly $50 million fighting fires last year, the largest amount by far in at least eight years. South Nanaimo suffered a spate of about a dozen suspicious forest fires at that time, which led forest companies to increase security and consider roadblocks.
David Hall, senior investigator with the Ministry of Forests and Range, said fire investigations will now be done only by compliance and enforcement investigators who are specifically trained in fire investigations. Previously, staff within the wildfire management branch, who don’t always have the same level of training, sometimes investigated the fires,
Hall said that suspected arsons from around the Nanaimo area last summer are still under investigation. He wouldn’t say if progress was being made.
