The Castlegar Fire Department has put out two suspicious fires in two days. Photo: Betsy Kline

The Castlegar Fire Department has put out two suspicious fires in two days. Photo: Betsy Kline

Castlegar Fire Department puts out second suspicious fire in two days

The fire was in a treed area near Connors Road Monday evening

For the second day in a row, the Castlegar Fire Department has been called on to put out another suspicious fire.

After battling a 100-metre by 200-metre wildland fire on Sunday, CFD was once again called to action around 5:30 p.m. Monday evening.

When they arrived on scene, CFD discovered a patch of grass approximately two metres by two metres on fire in a semi-treed area between Connors Road and the Dairy Queen.

“The fire was knocked down by some astute neighbours that smelled burning grass and stopped the fire from growing until CFD arrived on scene,” said Deputy Chief Nick Ahlfeld, who also confirmed that the cause of the fire is suspicious.

CFD responded to seven suspicious fires in the month of July.

On July 18, a Castlegar man was charged with deliberately setting a fire behind a local business on June 4. The charge has not been proven in court.

At the time, an RCMP spokesperson said police and the Castlegar fire department had responded to a volume of suspicious fires that are suspected to have been deliberately set in Castlegar parks, forested areas, and on one occasion inside the bathroom of a local business. There have been no arrests in relation to those fires.

READ MORE: Fire crews monitoring site of suspicious wildland fire south of Castlegar

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