Northwestern Ont. community plagued with rash of arsons involving youth

A stock image of a hand holding a match with an open flame and a large fire in the background. (File photo/PamWalker68/iStockPhoto)

Police are investigating eight arson incidents in a remote northwestern Ontario community since January, with damages of more than $1 million and 11 youth suspects arrested.

The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) confirmed 10 suspects have been charged in connection with the fires in Sachigo Lake First Nation, all between the ages of 11 and 16.

The first fire destroyed a new trailer home Jan. 23, causing $270,000 in damages.

The next day, an abandoned house burned, resulting in $200,000 in damages. Four suspects were identified and three young females, ages 12, 13 and 15, were charged.

In this case, “an 11-year-old male accused was not charged due to their age,” police said in a news release Wednesday.

The next fire caused approximately $20,000 in damage to a baseball field stage on April 18. Another new trailer home was destroyed the next day, causing $272,000 in damage. Four females – aged 12, 13, and two 15-year-olds – were charged.

A trailer at a lumber yard burned on April 23, at an estimated loss of $175,000, and a shed was destroyed, causing another estimated $6,000 in damages.

Less than a week later, on April 29, a shack at a lumber yard suffered an estimated $9,000 in damage.

The most recent incident happened on May 3 when a parked school bus was torched, causing $50,000 in damages. Three males – one 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds – were charged.

“The identities of accused individuals are being withheld from the public in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act,” police said.

The police service said the investigation into these incidents remains ongoing.

Anyone with information about these fires is urged to contact the Sachigo Lake police detachment at 807-595-2599 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.