A 36-year-old man who had been arrested for allegedly starting a fire near several homes in West Kelowna on Saturday evening has been released from custody, with possible charges pending..Around 8:30 p.m., a resident on Webber Road in the Glenrosa neighbourhood began filming when he noticed a man lurking in the wooded area behind his home. The video shows the man lingering amid the trees before lighting something on fire and tossing it into the dry brush..Neighbours reportedly rushed to extinguish the fire themselves before officers arrived. Shortly after receiving a description of the suspect and his vehicle, police were able to locate and arrest him, as he was still in the area..“The West Kelowna RCMP do have an investigation underway, [but] it’s too early right now for me to have any kind of clarity as to what the motive may have been with regards to this, or even what charges will be considered,” Dawn Roberts, spokesperson for the BC RCMP told Castanet..“I understand that today, the individual was released with a series of conditions, and charges are pending..“This incident was extremely dangerous, and we commend the members of the neighbourhood for doing an excellent job in extinguishing the fire so quickly and helping progress the investigation.”.There are over 300 fires currently burning across BC, 75 of which have ignited this past weekend..Kelowna is expected to hit 37C this week..“I was the closest house to this, he was directly behind my house, about 20 feet behind my property line,” Steve, a Glenrosa resident, told the Western Standard..“We were in the front area of our house at the time and heard what sounded like really loud glass smashing… laying in my driveway was the head of that axe thing the guy was carrying in the video..“I pick the thing up and it was covered in whatever he used to light that fire. I then heard a car speeding through the neighbourhood and this guy drive up and starts looking at me, so I ask him what’s going on… ‘Is this thing yours?’.“This was clearly the guy from the video, and I had no idea about the fire at this point. I think he actually walked through my yard. My kids were home..“He was sweating and told me some story about how this lady, who was driving another car, kidnapped his kids, and that the thing I’m holding is his. He said he hit a tree with it down on the trail and it flew into my yard. He grabbed the thing out of my hand and sped off..“I think he smashed the car with the axe to try and make a distraction so we wouldn’t notice the fire behind the house.”.Anyone with information is asked to call the West Kelowna RCMP at 250-768-2880..Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.rsmall@westernstandardonline.com
