Grand Forks' fire dept. investigating City Park fire

Grand Forks Fire/Rescue (GFFR) put out a human-caused fire at City Park Thursday afternoon, Aug. 26.

Dep. Chief Stephane Dionne said the fire burnt an approximately 60 square-metre patch of dry grass (10′ x 20″) at the bottom of the parking lot at around 3:10 p.m.

Grand Forks Fire/Rescue volunteers soak the remnants of a small grass fire at City Park Thursday, Aug. 26. Photo: Laurie Tritschler

Dionne had hoped to speak with two people he’d seen fighting the fire as he arrived on-scene, but said neither could be found after the department had the blaze under control.

“I turned around and they were gone — like ghosts,” he said.

Dionne said witnesses saw two people smoking on the grass shortly before the fire broke out. There was no evidence of any other source of ignition, he said, qualifying that the fire had probably been an accident.

“There’s no indication that this fire was maliciously set,” he told The Gazette.

Grand Forks RCMP said they were also investigating the incident, adding that police had received reports of a suspicious man and a woman seen in the area shortly before the fire broke out.

A bicycle left at the scene had caught fire, but nearby trees and a wooden utility pole were left unscathed.

@ltritsch1 laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.