Kamloops woman facing arson charges granted bail Friday

Photo: Castanet Staff

A Kamloops woman accused of setting a string of fires in the Lac Le Jeune and Monte Lake areas in recent weeks has been released from jail.

Angela Elise Cornish, 42, was granted bail Friday and released on a number of conditions, including electronic monitoring.

Cornish is facing four counts of arson stemming from a fire on April 30 in Monte Lake, along with additional fires between May 7 and May 11 in the Lac Le Jeune area.

Police said she was identified as a suspect after a sharp-eyed Monte Lake resident spotted a suspicious truck in the area of a fire on April 30.

A number of Monte Lake residents attended Cornish’s bail hearing last week. One man said the community is just starting to recover from last year’s wildfire season, which devastated the rural area.

“With this string of fires, it’s been so stressful," he said. "I can’t describe it. It’s like the fires coming up from all over again."

A publication ban covers all of the evidence presented at Cornish’s bail hearing. The circumstances of the allegations against her likely won’t become public until she stands trial or pleads guilty. Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 9 in Kamloops court.

Dozens of homes were destroyed during last summer's White Rock Lake wildfire, which swept through the community in early August. That fire, the province's most destructive last year, would later grow to the south, destroying many more homes along Westside Road.