City staff are asking the public to remain vigilant and continue reporting fires after Williams Lake Fire Department crews were out overnight June 11 to deal with four fires.
Gary Muraca, chief administrative officer for the city, said crews were called out to address multiple fires throughout the night, one at the RC Cotton site, one at the back of Carlson Park in Westridge subdivision, and one at Bee Jay Auto Wrecking & Towing on Mackenzie Avenue.
An update from Cory Boyd, assistant fire chief for the city, provided further details and information on a fourth fire.
Fire crews were called first at 1:10 a.m. to a small wildland fire off of Highway 20 near the railroad bridge. Upon arrival, Boyd said the fire had put itself out but crews doused the area to ensure it did not reignite. The fire was estimated at 40 feet by 10 feet in size.
Shortly afterwards, crews were dispatched at 1:45 a.m. to a vehicle fire in the wrecking yard on Mackenzie. Crews found one vehicle fully involved in a row of vehicles.
"The engine crew was able to knock the fire down quickly and cool exposures," said Boyd. Williams Lake Fire Department had sent a Chief truck, engine, tender and ladder to the incident along with 15 firefighters. RCMP also attended.
Tiki Preeper, from Bee Jay Auto Wrecking, told the Tribune whoever started the fire may have been looking for gasoline.
"What they may not realize is that all the fluids are drained out of all the vehicles in this part of the yard because they are going to be crushed," she said.
Then, at 4:56 a.m., the fire department received a burning complaint in the Westridge area of an unattended campfire. A small campfire was discovered and the duty officer was able to extinguish it.
Finally, at 6:12 a.m., firefighters were once again called to a possible wildland fire close to the RC Cotton trail, reported Boyd. He said a small 10 feet by 10 feet fire was found in the bushes about 50 feet from the trail towards the river. The first responding engine extinguished the fire without further resources.
All four were dealt with promptly by crews.
"There's definitely heightened awareness," said Muraca.
Muraca said the city recognizes the number of fires in the community are a growing concern for the public and he said both the RCMP and the Williams Lake Fire Department are working collaboratively to address the problem.
"A couple of them were definitely concerning," said Muraca. He said the authorities will proceed with investigations into the incidents and wants to give the public some peace of mind the authorities are working on the issue.
According to a social media post by Tiki Preeper, one of the retiring owners of Bee Jay Auto Wrecking & Towing, the fire at the business was discovered as a driver was returning with a pump truck.
"Hopefully we can see a reduction of this prior to the summer when things get tinder dry, because that's when they're really concerning," said Muraca.
Fires in the community have been gaining public attention as firefighters are called out to deal with them and some buildings have already been damaged or destroyed.
Crews responded to a fire in an abandoned building on June 8, 2025 behind the Hamilton Hotel.
A fire on March 27 destroyed the building where the business Station 99 was located as well.
On June 16, 2024, Markey Mechanical Ltd. also lost their building to a fire which was believed to have started in a vehicle.
