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Following a fire that ravaged an unhoused Revelstoke man’s camp Halloween night, local emergency responders have left it to the B.C. government to determine the fate of the land and settlement. Between 9:20 and 11:35 p.m. last Friday, Oct. 31, Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services deployed two engines, a ladder truck and 16 personnel to douse and monitor a blaze that broke out at the encampment, situated at the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 23 North. “We definitely needed that second engine for water suppression,” Fire Chief Steven DeRousie said. Responders have confirmed the occupant escaped the fire unharmed. “The occupant exited the structure on his own and a bystander assisted the occupant with retrieving some of his belongings prior to the structure being fully engulfed,” Staff Sgt. Chris Dodds of Revelstoke RCMP said in a release. “Of course, he was attempting to save whatever he could,” DeRousie added. READ: No one harmed after fire guts Revelstoke homeless camp Without any reliable camera footage of the incident, he said the cause of the “miscellaneous” fire will remain undetermined based on current available evidence. Another uncertainty for responders and the community is whether the occupant will be allowed to continue residing on the land, which Black Presss Media has confirmed the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) has right of way for. DeRousie said that Revelstoke RCMP was responsible for cordoning off the area with tape Friday night after the fire, and that along with MOTT, RCMP may have some jurisdictional authority for that patch of land. However, according to Dodds, the RCMP has no say in whether the occupant may return. “Our investigation is concluded,” he said by email. “The occupant was offered support services but declined.” This included options for emergency housing, Dodds shared in a release. According to the Community Connections (Revelstoke) Society, the occupant has been made aware of short-term housing services available through its temporary emergency shelter program at the Frontier Motel, just across the road. The program opened last Saturday, Nov. 1 — the morning after the fire — for the 2025-26 winter season. Regardless, DeRousie explained that patients always have the option to decline the voluntary emergency support services that police, paramedics and firefighters can offer within 72 hours. BC Emergency Health Services also supported the response, sending an ambulance with primary care paramedics who stood by. “No patients were assessed or required hospital transport,” paramedic public information officer Brian Twaites told Black Press Media by email. READ: Revelstoke shelter adds 6 emergency rooms for winter At a highway maintenance stakeholder meeting hosted at Revelstoke’s Coast Hillcrest Hotel this Tuesday morning, Nov. 4, MOTT and Emcon Services representatives voiced concerns about the occupant’s camp being vulnerable to snow plowing this winter. “We don’t want to throw snow on him, so we’re going to (leave it to) the powers that be,” Kody Moncrief, operations manager for Emcon’s Selkirk Division, told attendees. Local MOTT staff added that they’re weighing different options that take into consideration both highway maintenance obligations and the occupant’s safety. That said, they described the man’s encampment — highly visible off the national highway corridor to tourists and passersby — as being a concern for the majority of Revelstokians. While the occupant’s future at the site presents an unknown, DeRousie noted the police tape remains there for now. “You’re not supposed to cross it,” he said, “and I’m going to leave it there.” Black Press Media has reached out to MOTT for formal comment.
