Soon after the Sea Cavalcade fireworks subsided Sunday night, a vehicle was set ablaze just north of Armours Beach in the 700 block of Marine Drive in Gibsons.
Sunshine Coast RCMP and the Gibsons volunteer fire department were called to the fire at about 10:45 p.m.
When we got there it was just a big fire ball, said fire Chief Bob Stevens, adding he had three fire trucks and 13 firefighters on site.
Crews knocked the flames down quickly and had the fire out within minutes, but Stevens said things could have been much worse.
The Toyota truck that burned was parked in the driveway to the Chekwelp Indian Reserve just off Marine Drive in an area surrounded by dry grass and trees.
The fire caught some of the grass around it and it scorched the trees and then [the truck] basically rolled back probably about 15 or 20 feet and came up against a fence and continued to burn there, Stevens said. Fortunately because there was a road on one side and a driveway on the other the fire didn't have too far to go, but certainly a different location at this time of year could have been a whole lot worse.
The weeks of dry weather have pushed the fire rating on the Sunshine Coast to high and it may be moved to extreme in the coming weeks, Stevens said.
Sunshine Coast RCMP believe the vehicle fire was deliberately set and they're seeking information from the public on the incident.
If you have any information about the vehicle fire call RCMP at 604-885-2266 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-222-TIPS (8477).
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