Two abandoned houses burned down in Merritt

Two abandoned houses were burned down in Merritt early this morning, and a witness saw a dark pickup truck leaving the scene. Merritt RCMP were called about house fires off Midday Valley Road around 2 a.m. today, June 17, according to a press release from police. The fire quickly spread to a second abandoned house next door. The Merritt Fire Department responded and were able to prevent the fires from spreading to a third abandoned building nearby, but the first two houses were destroyed, RCMP said.  "A witness observed a dark pickup truck pull up to the structures shortly before 2 a.m.," RCMP Staff Sgt. Josh Roda said in the release. "A few minutes later the structure was on fire and the pick up truck fled the area at a high rate of speed. We would like to identify and speak with the occupant of the truck to determine what may have occurred." Police are asking anyone with information or video of a dark pickup in the area to call Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .