Kamloops RCMP say a man has now been charged after a suspicious fire on Columbia Street five days ago.

At 9 p.m. last Thursday, Const. Crystal Evelyn said an off-duty officer stopped next to a vehicle pulled over with its hazard lights on at Columbia and 1st Avenue, where a man was pouring water on a campfire-sized grassfire. Evelyn said that person pointed to a man walking away from the scene, who was alleged to have lit that fire.

Evelyn said the officer called for backup and followed that suspect, before placing him under arrest. Evelyn says the man tried to resist and flee, and ending up fighting with the officer.

Police backup was able to help arrest the suspect and take him into custody.

“Thanks to the quick actions of the public the fire was extinguished before it could spread and grow into something much more substantial… And thanks to the off-duty police officer, a suspect was promptly arrested and remains in custody for the time being,” Evelyn said on Tuesday afternoon.

Thirty-two-year-old Kamloops resident Wyatt Alcide Proulx now faces charges of mischief and obstruction of a police officer. Proulx was expected to have a court appearance today.