A person is facing six criminal charges in connection with two grass fires police allege were deliberately set in Vernon, B.C., earlier this month. On the afternoon of Aug. 4, police were called to the scene of the first fire on Commonage Road near Bench Row Road, according to the Vernon North-Okanagan RCMP. Roughly 20 minutes later, a second fire was reported in Carlson Park near Bench Row Road. “Investigators believe the fires were human caused and intentionally set,” Mounties said in statement Wednesday. Ten days after the fire, a suspect was arrested. Mariah Banning Bear, 33, has been charged with one count of arson in relation to inhabited property, two counts of arson in relation to property, one count of possessing incendiary material, one count of disguising one’s face to commit an indictable offence and one count of breach of probation. “The accused appeared in court and has been remanded in custody awaiting a bail hearing. The investigation remains ongoing and no further details will be released at this time,” the statement from police concluded.
