Slave Lake wildfire now classified as arson
Posted Nov 1, 2011 2:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The provincial government has turned over its file on last spring’s Slave Lake wildfire to the RCMP, and the case has now been classified as an arson investigation.
“I’ve turned over all files and reports to the RCMP to determine if a criminal investigation is now necessary,” says Sustainable Resource Development Minister Frank Oberle who says the province’s part in the investigation is over. “The conclusion of arson comes only after the most thorough and rigorous investigation, conducted to international standards.”
Oberle adds the results of the investigation are disturbing.
“The investigation is completed on the main fire,” he says. “For this fire our investigation eliminated all natural, industrial or accidental causes. Disturbing as that conclusion is, the probable cause of the fire that burned more than 400 homes and other structures in Slave Lake was arson.”
The fire last May displaced as many as 7,000 residents and destroyed 4,700 hectares of land, wiping out as many as 400 homes and structures in Slave Lake.
It’s considered the second most expensive insured disaster in Canadian history.
