Third woman in two weeks accused of lighting fires in BC Interior

PENTICTON — A 33-year-old West Kelowna woman already on probation has become the third woman in two weeks accused of starting fires in the Interior, this time facing six charges after two grass fires in Vernon’s Commonage neighbourhood..Mariah Banning Baer, also listed in court records as Mariah Faye Banning Baer, was arrested August 14 and charged in connection with the August 4 fires. Vernon North Okanagan RCMP named her in a Wednesday news release — an uncommon step so early in an investigation.According to the authorities, officers responded at 1:23 p.m. August 4 to a grass fire on Commonage Road near Bench Row Road that appeared to have started at a roadside pullout. A second fire was found shortly afterward in Carlson Park on Bench Row Road. Investigators concluded both were human-caused and intentionally set. Helicopters already fighting another blaze needed to be diverted so firefighters could contain the fires. Thankfully, no structures were damaged and no one was injured.Baer faces one count of arson in relation to inhabited property, two counts of arson in relation to property, one count of possession of incendiary material, one count of disguising her face with intent to commit an indictable offence, and one count of breach of a probation order. She appeared in court and was remanded in custody pending a bail hearing.The charges arrive on the heels of two other female suspects. On August 8 a bush fire was deliberately set in the 300-block of the Trans-Canada Highway in Salmon Arm, threatening a nearby business. A 33-year-old woman was arrested the next day and later released with conditions. No charges were laid. The Western Standard first reported the identification after RCMP confirmed the details..Two days later, on August 10, a 35-year-old Vernon woman was arrested after witnesses said she set a newspaper box alight at Kin Beach and walked away. A police dog team found her nearby.The cluster stands out and seems to defy traditional "norms" regarding fire activity and gender. Statistics Canada figures show that from 2012 to 2021, 83% of the 20,683 people accused of arson were men and boys. The rate among males was nearly five times higher than among females. In 2015, women accounted for just 16.3% of those accused of the offence.A few years earlier, Kamloops resident Angela Elise Cornish, then 42, pleaded guilty to setting multiple small wildfires in rural areas south of the city. Her lawyer told court she was seeking “personal healing and growth” through fire. Cornish later received a conditional sentence, breached conditions, and was charged again this year in a Kamloops house fire. Court records indicated she planned to live in Kelowna.Baer’s own Vernon Law Courts file shows a lengthy series of appearances dating back to March 2025. It included multiple adjournments, fitness or psychiatric assessments, pre-sentence reports and other procedural dates through 2025 and into 2026. .It concluded with a sentencing hearing on June 8, 2026. The new charges include a breach of probation, indicating she was still under court-ordered conditions when the August fires occurred.The Commonage fires came during a period of elevated wildfire risk in the Okanagan. RCMP had earlier asked the public for dash-cam or witness information from the area between roughly 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. on August 4.“We reached this point in our investigation through a tremendous amount of hard work by our investigators and the collective effort of everyone involved,” Sgt. David Evans of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said in the release.RCMP typically withhold names until after a first court appearance or later. Naming Banning Baer provided an unusual degree of transparency in a fire-season arson case.Banning Baer remains in custody. No date for the bail hearing has been publicly listed. Anyone with information is asked to contact Vernon North Okanagan RCMP.

Third woman in two weeks accused of lighting fires in BC Interior

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