'Suspicious' grass fire in Lillooet destroys 2 homes

A grass fire early Thursday morning in the middle of Lillooet is "definitely suspicious," the local fire chief says.

The fire, driven by wind, raced across an empty grass field in a residential area and engulfed two mobile homes, destroying them.

Fire Chief Darren Oike says the two families in the homes were evacuated and no one was injured.

"Luckily, a citizen went door-to-door banging on doors We're very grateful," he said. "We also had an adjacent apartment building and two adjacent townhome complexes."

In addition to the Lillooet Fire Department, the B.C. Wildfire Service sent personnel to fight the flames.

RCMP and Stl'atl'imx Tribal Police Service responded to the fire as well, Oike says, and evacuated several residences and a seniors home nearby as a precaution as the smoke grew.

Those people have all been allowed back into their homes. The families living in the destroyed homes are now in the care of emergency social services.

Oike described the fire, first reported around 2:20 a.m. PT, as a sudden, quick one.

There was no lightning in the area andthe field, in the middle of town,is not frequented by people. The field was almost completely burned up by the fire.

Oike says there are no active wildfires in the Lillooet fire zone, but the area is under an open burningban.