Where Do Investigations Into 2023’s Arsons Amid Record Wildfires Stand?

With two arson charges already laid following Canada’s worst wildfire season on record in 2023, police say more investigations are continuing in provinces across the country, with several focused on Alberta specifically.

Alberta RCMP say 13 arson-related charges have been laid following investigations by the RCMP Forestry Crimes Unit and Alberta RCMP. Two larger-scale investigations from 2023 are being reviewed by the Crown.

There are also “a number of open investigations currently being investigated,” Alberta RCMP media relations manager Fraser Logan told The Epoch Times by email on Jan. 24.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) says the 2023 wildfire season in Canada was “the most devastating in recent history.” By the end of the season, “more than 6,500 fires had burned a total of 18.4 million hectares (more than seven times the 10-year average of 2.5 million),” NRCan communications adviser Shireen Ali told The Epoch Times in an emailed response on Feb. 2.

Ms. Ali noted that over 235,000 Canadians were evacuated from their homes and communities and that “unusually high temperatures and prolonged periods of drought across the country, largely due to climate change, created the perfect conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread rapidly.”
With thick smoke blanketing cities across North America, various politicians in the Liberal government also appeared to put the blame solely on climate change.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/where-do-investigations-into-2023s-arsons-amid-record-wildfires-stand-5575917