The BC Wildfire Service says the most likely cause of the Elephant Hill wildfire was smoking or smoking materials.
It says that the ‘smoking materials’ classification includes matches, cigars, pipe tobacco, cigarettes and/or marijuana.
This wildfire was sparked on July 6, 2017, about 2.5 kilometres southeast of Ashcroft. It eventually burned 191,865 hectares in B.C.’s south-central Interior region, including parts of both the Kamloops Fire Centre and Cariboo Fire Centre.
The investigation ruled out other possible causes including lightning, escaped campfire, arson, railroads, vehicles and electrical transmission along utility lines and poles.
Fire Information Officer Kyla Fraser says the report was completed in the fall of 2017, but it was submitted as part of a larger larger RCMP investigation.
“And the RCMP recently concluded their investigation so we’re now able to share the information regarding the cause of the wildfire,” she said. “The RCMP are responsible for conducting and investigation into any wildfire that is deemed to be suspicious in nature, so that was the reason that they had taken on that investigation.”
Fraser says fire and police investigators didn’t uncover sufficient information to identify a person who’s actions could be attributed to the start of the wildfire.
“So it’s not possible to lay any charges in this case or pursue cost recovery for damages caused by the fire,” she noted. “So essentially now that the investigation has been concluded, no further action will be taken at this time.”
Fraser says this is a good reminder to take precautions to prevent human caused fires.
“Regardless if you’re doing open burning, having a campfire, if you do smoke or use any smoking materials to be extremely cautious,” Fraser said. “We as people can do as much as we can to prevent human caused wildfires and it’s important to remember that our actions do have consequences.”
And she’s reminding people that there is a prohibition on Category 2, Category 3, and resource management fires currently in place.
Ashcroft Mayor says Knowing Cause of the Fire Will Bring Closure
On that note, the Mayor of Ashcroft says knowing what caused the Elephant Hill wildfire in 2017 will bring a little bit of closure to people.
“I don’t know how people will react to this,” Barbara Roden told NL News. “The sentiment I’ve been getting from people is they want a name. They want to know who started it, and I don’t know what that would do for anyone or what kind of closure that might bring.”
She says she would have never suspected ‘smoking or smoking materials’ as the likely cause of the huge blaze west of Kamloops.
“There’s no roads where this fire happened. The only road in is basically a trail so this was not someone driving along and throwing their cigarette butt out the window, so that does surprise me,” Roden said.
“I would have suspected you know a campfire that got out on control as the cause.”
She does admit it is both ‘sad and depressing’ to be still talking about the Elephant Hill fire almost three years after it happened, but understands these investigations can be very complex.
“You know I don’t think we’re ever going to see justice, I don’t think its possible to see justice in the case of something like the Elephant Hill wildfire which cost a couple of hundred people everything they owned,” Roden said.
– With files from Victor Kaisar
