Police open criminal probe after campfire-sparked blaze threatened homes in Kamloops, B.C.

Electricity has been restored to nearly 4,000 homes and businesses in Kamloops, B.C., after a rapidly spreading grass fire swept through an area not far from the city centre.

A statement from Kamloops RCMP says the blaze was sparked Wednesday by a campfire in Strathcona Park, in the west of the city.

It said a criminal investigation has begun as police search for the person who lit it.

Flames came within metres of homes and structures but RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley said in the statement that firefighters and the B.C. Wildfire Service "did an amazing job" controlling and dousing the fire.

'It was pretty scary'

Jason Brown, who lives on Strathcona Terrace, which borders the park, first saw smoke coming up a slope behind his backyard on Wednesday afternoon.

"It looked like a fire racing up the hill," he said. "You could see the smoke and then the flames shooting up."

Brown said he and his neighbours rushed to get their own garden hoses out and begin dousing the hillside with water before fire crews arrived.

"It was pretty scary," he said. He added that conditions in the area have been dry so far this spring.

"It lit up pretty quickly," he added.

The fire was fanned by gusty winds and spread quickly through the grass and sagebrush in the park but officials say it was controlled before any homes or structures were damaged.

The B.C. Hydro website shows power in the area on either side of the Thompson River overlooking the Overlanders Bridge was cut just before 3 p.m. PT Wednesday, but had been restored about seven hours later.

Early wildfire

The wildfire service ranks the current wildfire danger in B.C. from "very low'' on the South Coast, to "moderate'' in the northeast, but a large area around Kamloops is also ranked as moderate, which means fuels are drying and the risk of surface fires, such as grass fires, is increasing.

The wildfire service website shows 52 fires have been reported since the start of the season on April 1, and 29 are considered active, but all are ranked as under control.

Dead and rapidly drying grasses exposed as snow recedes can raise early risks of a blaze and the wildfire service has said ample rainfall in May and June is key to curbing the fire danger over the summer.