No updates on suspicious Canadian Tire fire 2 weeks after incident closed Vernon store

Photo: Gordon Cole

It has been two weeks since a fire caused the closure of Vernon's Canadian Tire store, and police say the incident remains under investigation.

The early morning Nov. 19 fire was deemed suspicious two days later by police.

It started in the garden centre area in the front of the store and burned up the exterior wall and into the roof.

The store has remained closed since, with restoration crews working on site.

"The file is still under investigation, and we do not have any updates that we will be releasing at this time," Vernon RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Tania Finn said in an email Friday.

Fire crews responded to the fire at the Village Green Shopping Centre location about 3 a.m.

“Upon arrival, crews found a large fire outside the building, within a locked compound,” the City of Vernon said after the fire. “Initial crews on scene knocked the fire down quickly and then gained access inside the building to confirm the extension to the structure was extinguished.

No one was injured in the fire, but it caused extensive damage to the exterior of the Canadian Tire building, along with minor fire and smoke damage inside.

RCMP believe the weekend fire was deliberately set.

The store remains closed until further notice.