A man has been arrested and charged in connection to six alleged arsons in a Mission B.C. park over the past two-and-a-half years, authorities say.
In a news release Monday, Mounties say they began an investigation into "intentionally set fires" that were "suspected to be incendiary in nature" in July of 2021 and made an arrest earlier this month.
Joseph Kraakman, 25, has now been charged with six counts of arson.
Court records show offence dates of July and August 2021, July and November of 2022, and January of 2023. In most of these cases, the Mission RCMP says, the flames were spotted and doused by local crews before they could spread to the park's dense forests.
However, the blaze in August of 2021 grew to 0.8 hectares and prompted the evacuation of a residential neighbourhood. The B.C. Wildfire Service had to be called in to fight the fire using helicopters, according to police.
The lengthy investigation was a joint undertaking of Mission Fire Rescue Service, the B.C. Wildfire Service, and the Mission RCMP.
"We would especially like to thank the community for reporting these fires and providing key details to our investigators," said Insp. Ted Lewko with the Mission RCMP.
Kraakman is next due in court on March 9 and the conditions of his release include a prohibition on entering the park, and a ban on possessing incendiary devices, police say.
