Kamloops, BC's historic Red Bridge has been destroyed by a fire that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has deemed "suspicious."Authorities have launched an investigation to determine exactly how the blaze broke out, and whether anyone is to blame.According to Castanet, the fire broke out around 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Four engines and 16 firefighters arrived on scene and tried to battle the flames, but before long the structure collapsed and fell into the river below. Kamloops Fire Rescue Chief Ken Uzeloc said it appeared as though the blaze began "near the middle of the bridge," and that crews were working to ensure it didn't spread beyond the main span.RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley explained that his team is "treating the incident as suspicious," noting that it was the second fire to occur on the bridge in as many days. On September 17, a small blaze charred a support post on the south side, causing it to close for a number of hours. "We are and will continue to work closely with our fire investigators and [Kamloops Fire Rescue] partners to establish how the fire began and if criminality was involved," he added, asking anyone who might have been in the area at the time to "reach out to police if they saw anything suspicious, and please check their security and dash camera footage to see if anything was captured that could be related to this incident."In a notice, the City of Kamloops said that "due to the risk of falling or floating debris," all city boat launches in Pioneer Park, Valleyview, and McArthur Island Park were closed, as well as Pioneer Park itself, the Rivers Trail between Pioneer Park and Riverside Park, and the Riverside Park pier.Residents were also asked to "stay out of the South Thompson and Thompson Rivers at or west of the Red Bridge and to stay back from the river's edge." Traffic delays were expected, as well.."We're closely monitoring the bridge collapse in Kamloops," Premier David Eby said in a post on X. "As the situation continues, please follow all instructions from local authorities, and stay safe."The Red Bridge was built in 1936 and connected the downtown core to the Tk'emlúps Indian Band's Reserve and adjoining industrial park.
