Two nuisance fires this week have not amounted to much damage, but have required the Williams Lake fire department and RCMP’s attendance.
The first, an abandoned vehicle fire at the Dairy Fields on Monday evening, resulted from youths throwing Molotov cocktails at the vehicle, fire chief Randy Isfeld says.
He says the vehicle has been there for a long time.
“I have no idea how long. It was pretty much wrecked at the time. There wasn’t much to burn. The seats inside caught on fire, but the fire was almost out by the time we got there. It only took us a couple of minutes to get it out,” Isfeld says, adding the act itself was disturbing.
The second fire took place Tuesday and involved the stairs at an abandoned building on Mackenzie Avenue.
Sgt. Rick LeBeuf says the RCMP were advised that a person walking a dog noted the back of the building had been burnt.
“Police attended and noted smoke coming from part of the building and the fire department was called to the scene.”
Isfeld adds that someone had lit part of a staircase on fire at an abandoned building.
“The fire itself was pretty minor, but the act itself wasn’t. Somebody had lit it, although it was actually just smoldering,” Isfeld says.
LeBeuf adds there are no witnesses to the fire, but a bottle located at the scene contained a possible flammable substance.
The case is still under investigation.
Last month the fire department finished up prescribed burns around the city, although there were a couple that were not completed because of heavy rains.
"The weather caught up with us. Once the green grass starts to push up through the dry grass, if we burnt it then it actually destroys the green grass so it's not a good idea to burn then," Isfeld explains. "Most of the problem goes away when the green grass gets big enough."