RCMP probe 'suspicious' wildfires in B.C. Interior

The RCMP in British Columbia say they're probing the circumstances around a handful of "suspicious" wildfires sparked in an area of the southern Interior.

They say officers from Salmo responded with the local fire department to as many as four brush fires northwest of the intersection of Highways 6 and 3 on Saturday.

The Mounties say in a statement that police have reason to believe the fires may have been deliberately set before they were extinguished by fire crews.

They say crews reported spotting an unknown man fleeing the area on foot.

The RCMP say crews responded to three more fires in the Salmo area on Monday and investigators are working to determine possible connections between the blazes.

Of the latest fires, they say the first was discovered around 5 a.m. at the end of Lagoon Road; the second at 4:30 p.m. in the Bombi area; and the third at 5 p.m. near the same highway intersection where the fires were sparked on Saturday.

Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet told a news conference on Tuesday that anyone with information about the fires is asked to call the Salmo RCMP or Crime Stoppers.