Kamloops Fire and Rescue has now determined the cause of the wildfire on the Tk’emlúps te Secwèpemc Reserve nearly two weeks ago.

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Dean Olstad says people doing work at home on East Shuswap Road were using a gas powered saw to cut the metal and the sparks from that process ignited the nearby grass and brush causing the wildfire.

Olstad says homeowners need to be educated.

“The work is spoken to in the B.C fire code. Any time an open flame, or processes creating heat or sparks that include cutting, welding, and grinding, it is spoken to in the B.C fire code. And within that there are some precautions and requirements that homeowners or contractors should follow to do that work safely.”

The 500 hectare grass fire spread quickly due to high winds.