A Kamloops woman has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of arson following a joint investigation between the BC RCMP and BC Wildfire Service.
On April 30, 2022, a resident in the Monte Lake area encountered a suspicious vehicle on a forestry road while investigating some smoke in the hills. The resident took note of the license plate and reported it to the RCMP.
The community was alerted to this suspicious vehicle and that prompted other local residents to report their own encounters with the vehicle, driven by a woman.
An investigation was jointly conducted by the BC RCMP and BC Wildfire Service. On May 11, 2022, 42-year-old Angela Elise Cornish of Kamloops was arrested and has since been charged with four counts of arson by BC Prosecution Service, for incidents in various locations in the Southeast District of BC.
She is being held in custody until her bail hearing on May 16, 2022.
The RCMP encourages residents to be vigilant of suspicious activities or persons in your neighbourhoods and report them to your local police. Wildfires can be reported to BC Wildfire Service by calling 1-800-663-5555 or dialing *5555 from your cell phone.
Lisa Hudema, Wildfire Enforcement Superintendent with the BC Wildfire Service said, officers identified an area of interest near Kamloops due to several human-caused wildfires on Crown Land that were suspected incendiary in nature.
“BC Wildfire Service Provincial Fire Origin and Cause Investigators are jointly investigating these fires with the RCMP Southeast District General Investigation Section. Once the investigation into the origin and cause of these wildfires are completed, a report will be provided to the RCMP that will support their investigation. The report will not be released to the public until the RCMP’s investigation is complete.”
