FEATURED HEADLINE
On August 4, 2026, at approximately 1:23 p.m., Vernon North Okanagan RCMP officers and fire crews from the City of Vernon Fire Rescue Services responded to a grass fire on Commonage Road near Bench Row Road in Vernon’s Commonage area. The fire appeared to have started at a vehicle pullout near the roadside. A short time later, while crews were still on scene, a second grass fire was discovered near Carlson Park on Bench Row Road, a location accessible by foot through the park. A third small blaze was also reported in the same general area that afternoon and was quickly extinguished. Investigators determined that the fires were human-caused and intentionally set.
Fire crews from Vernon Fire Rescue Services, assisted by BX-Swan Lake Fire Rescue, the Coldstream Fire Department, and helicopters diverted from the separate Bradley Creek wildfire, contained the quick-moving grass fires the same day. The fires were described as spot-sized, with one briefly growing to roughly 300 by 300 feet before being brought under control. BC Wildfire Service listed them as held and under control. No structures were damaged and no one was injured. Temporary road closures were put in place in the area, including on Commonage Road, but these were lifted once the fires were secured. Crews remained on scene for a time to monitor for hot spots.
These incidents were distinct from the much larger Bradley Creek wildfire that had begun several days earlier west of Vernon and along Westside Road and Okanagan Indian Band land. That separate fire grew to more than 2,650 hectares, destroyed or damaged an estimated 200 to 245 structures, and required ongoing firefighting resources for weeks. The Commonage grass fires did not spread into or contribute to that larger blaze.
On August 14, 2026, police arrested Mariah Banning Baer, a 33-year-old woman from West Kelowna. She was charged with one count of arson in relation to inhabited property, two counts of arson in relation to property, one count of possession of incendiary material, one count of disguising her face with intent to commit an indictable offence, and one count of breach of a probation order. Baer appeared in court and was remanded in custody while awaiting a bail hearing. The RCMP stated that the investigation remains ongoing and that no further details would be released at that time.
The information above is drawn from official releases issued by the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP on August 5 and August 19, 2026, along with contemporaneous local reporting from Castanet and other outlets.
LIKE OUR WORK?