By CBC News, April 26, 2016
RCMP investigating after witnesses reported seeing people near where fire started
The fire that destroyed a CN Rail trestle bridge in the community of Mayerthorpe, about 120 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, may have been purposely set.
“It is suspicious in nature,” said Mayerthorpe fire chief Randy Schroeder.
RCMP are investigating, he said.
“There were some witnesses that indicated people were in the area at the time of the fire.”
Schroeder said there have been as many as 17 fires in the area over the last six days and all are under investigation, he said.
The fire is believed to have started on the ground near the bridge, he said.
Mayerthorpe resident Quinn White said the fire incinerated the bridge in just a couple of hours.
“When we got here, it was a relatively small fire,” he said. “We could still feel it from across the tracks. Within an hour it was just engulfed in flames.
“Now the whole thing has just fell down and they’re bombing it with water,” he said. “There’s some pillars from the truss still standing up, but for the rest of it, it’s just all fallen down.
The town’s fire department answered the fire call at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday along with employees from the rail company.
A trailer park with 38 mobile homes and nearby schools were evacuated, while some Lac St. Anne County residents living nearby were told to be ready to leave on one-hour notice.
The fire did not immediately threaten any homes as the wind was blowing away from the town, but officials wanted to be ready if the winds shifted, said town spokesperson Ashley Olsen.