Suspicious fire on Knox Mountain after witness snaps photo of shirtless man among flames

Tessa Voight and her friend Paiton Wrighton were hiking on Knox Mountain when they saw some smoke curling into the sky.

“At first we thought it was a controlled burn because why else would there be smoke on the mountain, and then, upon further looking, it was a man in a hard hat, shirtless, with his pants half down and obviously in some kind of mental health crisis,” Voight said.

The duo said they made sure authorities were called and then they cleared the area.

Voight snapped a picture of the man with charred ground around him and smoke in the air.

“We were worried about it spreading to the entire mountain and thank goodness it got under control,” she said.

Fire crews were quick to respond to the fire, which has now been ruled a criminal act.

On Friday, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed that Andrew James Dent has been charged with arson and resisting a peace officer in connection with the fire.

Voight and Wrighton said fire is top of mind in the region all the time, especially when it has been so dry.

“This is just one guy, but like, there’s so many more fires being started by people that haven’t been caught, right?” Voight said.