Six firefighters battled three wildfires from four separate ignition points, which together burned nearly a hectare.

The fires occurred in a forested area with large amounts of wood debris and household waste, including furniture and wood pallets. Crews were assisted by a water tender truck from the area.

Lightning also caused three wildfires in the area on Friday and Saturday, one within 10 km of the arson fires. The deliberately-set fires diverted resources from these naturally-occurring lightning fires.

Cy McConnell is the Forest Protection Officer for the Invermere Fire Zone and was on site Saturday as firefighters from the Cranbrook Rocky Mountain Unit Crew were putting out hot spots in the area.

McConnell said two of the five possible units from the group had to be dispatched to the site after control on the fire was gained on Friday night.

The firefighters contained the fire at about 10 p.m. after it had consumed approximately one quarter of a hectare of land.

The group returned at approximately 8 a.m. Saturday to continue the mop-up and were still there after 3 p.m.

Although the land was burned, McConnell said they were very lucky the fire did not reach heavier brush and trees located near the area.

Being so close to the community of Wilmer was a concern for the men fighting the fire.

McConnell said with the right wind conditions and the consistent growth for fuel the fire could have been into Wilmer within a few hours.

He also said the wind was not blowing and this helped keep the fire where it was but had it burned towards Wilmer this could have been much worse.

Due to the lack of lightning in the area, McConnell feels the fires were intentionally started.

He said, “The area is known as a place where dumping happens... if someone comes by with a Bic lighter they can activate it.”

The RCMP were called to the scene on Saturday and opened a file on the incident.

Constable Dustin Burch with the Columbia Valley RCMP said, “Arson is a criminal code offence. They (the public) can call us right away, or they can call a local fire department just to advise that a dangerous fire has started or people are intentionally setting fires.”

When asked if he thought people realized the hazards in what they were doing McConnell said, “No I don’t think so. I think people go out for a drive in the country and they see the forest and see all the green and they think, well it’s green nothing is going to burn.”

Even though the area was green the fire grew at a “vigorous rate last night” according to McConnell.

When asked how the public could help prevent or inform the firefighting group McConnell had a few suggestions.

He asked the public to remember the number 1-800-663-5555 if they see any type of smoke or fire.

McConnell said, “Anytime the public sees the smoke, don’t hesitate, phone it in and if you’re the tenth caller or the 100th phone call we are still going to be grateful for the public chipping in and trying to help us out.”

Recent economic problems within the logging industry has also caused a problem for the people who are fighting forest fires in the valley.

McConnell said, “Typically we have had a strong forestry industry around here. But this year with the recession, and the cutbacks in the economy we don’t have the same number of eyes out there in the bush.”

The fires are both a danger to the people who fight them and local towns, and McConnell hopes people will think twice before they start a fire which could be much worse than the one they put out last weekend.

Deliberately-set wildfires represent a significant percentage of the most costly fires in B.C., based on number of fires, hectares burned and overall expenditures.

Members of the public can help by reporting any suspicious activity using the principle of “observe, record and report”:

If you observe suspicious behaviour related to the setting of wildfires; record details of your observations (i.e. physical descriptions of the people and vehicles involved); and report them immediately to the RCMP. Crimes can be reported anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or through www.bccrimestoppers.com. Cash rewards of up to $2,000 are possible for tips resulting in arrests and charges.

Individuals charged with deliberately starting a wildfire could face up to 14 years in prison under Section 434 of the Criminal Code of Canada, or life imprisonment under Section 433. Under the Wildfire Act, a contravention could include a maximum $1 million fine and up to three years in prison.