Vancouver Island logging protesters deny arson involvement

Protest Group Denies Involvement in Suspected Arson

A group protesting old-growth logging on Vancouver Island is responding to an “insinuation” that they were involved in the suspected arson of logging equipment last week.

Sgt. Kevin Mack with Lake Cowichan RCMP stated that officers responded to the scene of the suspected arson at a site operated by Fraser Valley Timber on January 2. He mentioned that they are keeping an “open eye to all possibilities.”

According to reports, two grapple yarders and a log loader sustained more than $530,000 in damage from the fires that occurred the previous night.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, media reports quoted a spokesman suggesting that the proximity of the protest camp was not a coincidence.

The Walbran Valley Blockade protest camp stated that its code “explicitly prohibits violence and the damage or destruction of property.”

They support a full and transparent investigation and believe that “assigning blame before the facts are known serves to vilify forest protectors.”

The statement added that the group remains committed to a “peaceful presence, accountability, and truth, and will continue to act in accordance” with its code of conduct.

Sgt. Mack noted that investigators do not have “any direct link to the protest group right now, other than the proximity of their camp,” which is about half an hour away by road from the Fraser Valley Timber site.

He also mentioned that investigators have not spoken to the occupants of the protest camp in the Upper Walbran Valley.

Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership and Tsawak-qin Forestry Inc. have been logging in the old-growth area since August 2025. Police have made a total of 15 arrests while enforcing a court injunction that allows the logging.

Summary of Events