Tossed butt = $500K

UPDATE: 4:40 p.m.

Fire investigators say $500,000 of damage was caused as a result of a cigarette butt being thrown on the grass outside FormaShape.

“It’s amazing how something carelessly discarded can cause a real toll to local business,” the fire investigator said. "The obvious message is you have to be really careful.”

The components that were destroyed were all finished product that was ready to be shipped.

UPDATE: 11:15 a.m.

A fire that destroyed parts at FormaShape is believed to have started as a grass fire that spread to the scrap wood pile and then into the fenced yard.

The fire department has taken over the investigation.

ORIGINAL: 10:50 a.m.

Workers arrived to FormaShape Monday morning to find water park components torched in the Kelowna manufacturer's yard.

The parts, stored outside, caught fire about 2:50 a.m. Monday at FormaShape's facility off Beaver Lake Road, on the boundary between Kelowna and Lake Country.

The smell of plastic lingered in the air, and the ground on either side of the fence was scorched.

Firefighters arrived on scene and were able to contain the fire to a small section of the yard.

Workers were on site trying to estimate the cost of the damage.

Vice-president Craig Pay said the cause of the fire is unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.

FormaShape is a division of Whitewater Composites, which provides parts for parks such as Disney Cruise Lines and Canada’s Wonderland.