RCMP say officers doing patrols have stopped suspicious people in the past week in evacuation zones, in Lytton and near Merritt.

Spokesperson Dawn Roberts told NL News the first incident happened last Thursday, on August 19, when someone was trying to go into Lower Nicola, west of Merritt, while it was evacuated. Roberts says that person was a suspect in a recent arson investigation, after a structure fire in that area, and was breaching probation by trying to enter the area. That person was arrested and police are continuing to investigate.

The evacuation order for Lower Nicola has since been lifted.

And on Sunday, Roberts says a suspicious vehicle was stopped near Lytton and she says the occupants had no reason to be entering. She says police searched the vehicle and found break-in tools.

“We believe they were stopped in advance of criminal activity.”

She says all of the occupants were known to police, although no charges were laid and none of the break-in tools or other items in their vehicle was stolen property.

Roberts says about 650 officers have been deployed to evacuation areas over the past seven-and-a-half weeks. “The additional resources have been really heavily focused lately on doing roving patrols. Primarily in unmarked vehicles. So those patrols are actually proving quite successful.”

She reports no criminality has been reported in any evacuation zones this summer.

“So these patrols are working, and they’re having an affect on preventing crimes with regards to anything that’s going on,” she says.

“We are checking everyone that is in an area subject of an evacuation order. We are stopping them, talking to them. They may be stopped multiple times, actually, as they come across our patrols.”

As of Tuesday morning, close to 3,800 properties were on evacuation order across B.C. because of wildfires.