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Nakusp cops warn of firebug

Call for assistance to stop person before a major fire starts
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A fire at the ball diamonds in Nakusp Tuesday has RCMP in the village warning there may be a firebug on the loose.

“The police are just requesting that anyone who’s seen anything suspicious, anyone lighting these fires, to come forward so we can get them to stop,” says Cst. Lee Bellamy.

The fire, which started in the men’s washroom, damaged one of the toilets.

But it’s not the only incident.

Bellamy says in the last few weeks, someone has set a fire in garbage cans in the village park, and tried to burn down a tree on the beach.

While they sound like small incidents, Bellamy says they could have big consequences.

“It’s very dry out right now, and it wouldn’t take much to turn a small fire into a major fire,” he says. “If that tree had gone up, and the water level was low at that point, who knows what might have happened?”

Police don’t have a profile of who might be lighting the fires, and say there’s no real pattern to when or how they are set.

“Yesterday’s was lit during a ball game, so there were people were around. We are hoping someone saw something,” he says.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nakusp RCMP at 250-265-3677 (if after hours, press #1 and stay on the line and your call will be transferred to a communications officer) or anonymously at Crimestoppers, 1-800-222-8477, or on-line at bccrimestoppers.com.