WESTLOCK – Police are investigating an early-morning Aug. 19 fire that gutted an SUV, the third vehicle fire in the Town of Westlock on 107th Street since the start of 2023 and the second at the same location.
Westlock RCMP Detachment acting commander Cpl. Riley Sutherland that around 3 a.m., Aug. 19, they received a call from the Westlock Fire Department that a 2006 SUV parked in the back alley of a 107th Street home was fully engulfed. Crews were able to quickly contain the blaze and there was no additional damage to any of surrounding buildings, she added.
This is the third vehicle fire in that area since the start of the year as a pickup truck was torched in the front of the same 107th Street home in the early-morning hours of Jan. 19, while an overnight June 1 fire in the locked compound of Precision Classic Restoration and Collision Repair, located within a block at 10343 – 106th Street, destroyed a truck and damaged a handful of other vehicles. In that crime, video surveillance captured two men pouring gasoline on to the pickup before setting it ablaze.
Sutherland said that all three are arsons and remain under investigation — for the Aug. 19 fire they currently have “no suspects or witnesses.”
“We’re certainly looking into the possibility (that they’re connected). It’s certainly odd that it’s happening at the same location,” said Sutherland.
In addition to those suspicious blazes is the Jan. 31 fire that gutted the Old Timers Cabin on the Westlock Agricultural Society’s property on the west side of town on Range Road 265 (Old Pickardville Road).
At the end of March police confirmed that fire was also an arson and as of the end of July, the case remains unsolved and they’re still looking for help from the public.
Town firefighters were dispatched to scene around 4 a.m., Jan. 31, after a passersby saw smoke coming from the structure. The southeast corner of the building, which is where one of two doors and steps are, suffered most of the damage — the cabin was typically only open to the public during the ag fair and was not connected to power.
Since, the building has been moved further west on the ag society grounds due to its dilapidated state and the organization continues to ponder what to do with it.
People with tips on any of the fires are encouraged to call the detachment at 780-349-4492, while if you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
