A maintenance shed at Portlock Park was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 22.
Salt Spring Fire Chief Jamie Holmes said the structure was fully involved by the time crews arrived after a 1:46 a.m. call came in from staff at the Emcon highways yard across from the park.
Over a three-hour period, 15 firefighters and 3,000 gallons of water from a nearby hydrant were used to extinguish the blaze, ensuring it didn’t extend to the Lions picnic shelter or a truck and excavator parked on site.
Holmes said there is nothing to indicate the fire was deliberately set, especially with no tracks seen in the snow on the ground around the building.
A combination of the structure being an older building and the likelihood of rodents living inside may have been the fire’s cause, said Holmes.
“They can wreak havoc on electric wires,” he said.