Fire 'beyond suspicious'

While a suspect has yet to be identified, the city's police chief says Mounties have made “significant progress” in an arson investigation following a fire last week that destroyed the main span of the historic Red Bridge.

Kamloops RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley spoke at city council’s safety and security select committee meeting on Thursday. He said his officers have worked alongside Kamloops Fire Rescue in the aftermath of the devastating blaze.

“It remains one of our highest priorities within the detachment,” he said.

Crews were first called to the historic bridge just before 3:30 a.m. on Thursday. By sunrise, flames had destroyed the wooden-truss structure and its main span had collapsed into the South Thompson River.

Pelley said police are confident the fire was intentionally set.

“It’s beyond suspicious — it’s in fact been deemed an arson. So we’re very clear on that,” he said.

Pelley told council that Mounties have yet to fully identify a suspect.

“The investigation is still in its early stages, however we have made some significant progress with our general investigation team, our police dog services and forensics,” he said. “It remains a priority for us.”

'Properly outraged'

Coun. Katie Neustaeter said the Red Bridge arson was “condemnable behaviour,” adding she feels it’s important for residents to hear how the investigation is progressing.

“I think our community is properly outraged — and it also speaks to this discomfort with the level of crime that is happening in our community,” she said.

Meanwhile, the burned remnants of the bridge could be extracted from the river within the next week.

B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is leading cleanup efforts at the site. Coun. Stephen Karpuk, this month’s deputy mayor, said crews are trying to find a safe place on the river bank to operate the necessary heavy equipment for the task.

“There is a plan in place, they would like to see this done within the next week — so hopefully they’re able to achieve that goal,” Karpuk told Castanet Kamloops on Tuesday.

Karpuk said the assistant deputy minister for MOTI told him the ministry is hoping the lift will be in one piece. Failing that, they are planning for multiple pieces — and are looking at installing a boom or some other type of “insurance” to make sure the remaining parts of the bridge don’t break and get carried downstream.