A wildfire in the Spotted Lake area burns south of Hwy. 3 on the afternoon of Aug. 2. The blaze scorched more than 40 hectares and several people had to evacuate their homes. Photo by Paul Everest/ Osoyoos Times File - Click on picture for larger image

OSOYOOS TIMES-September 8, 2010

By Paul Everest - Osoyoos Times

An investigator from the British Columbia Forest Service has determined that a wildfire that devastated 40.2 hectares of land west of Osoyoos around Spotted Lake on Aug. 2 was human-caused.
Michaela Swan, an information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre, said an investigation into the fire concluded that, without question, the fire was caused by the activities of people and was likely the result of a discarded cigarette.
She said the investigator looked at evidence in the area where the fire started in grass along the south shoulder of Hwy. 3 just a few dozen metres west of Spotted Lake.
The investigator found cigarette butts in the area, Swan said, and the burn pattern suggested that the heat source that caused the fire was a cigarette.
All other factors that could have caused the fire, including lightning, have been ruled out, she added.
Some residents of the Spotted Lake area said they had heard that a truck driver was seen tossing a lit cigarette out of his truck near the spot where the fire started off of Hwy. 3 shortly before the blaze ignited.
The estimated cost of putting the fire out is $130,000, Swan said.
That figure covers the cost of fire retardant dispersed on the fire, the cost of deploying firefighting aircraft and paying for firefighting resources on the ground.
No one was injured during the fire, which broke out at about 3:30 p.m., but four homes were involved in an evacuation and families in three more residences were advised to leave.
One man had to be evacuated from his home by helicopter and horses belonging to several property owners in the area had to be moved as the fire spread.
No homes were destroyed in the fire.
Fire crews had the blaze completely contained the following day.
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