Yellowknife (July 02/04) - Police are investigating a string of "suspicious fires" over the last two weeks.

A fire beside the Fred Henne Campground Saturday evening was barely under control before crews were called to four smaller fires on Tin Can Hill.

"We believe they were deliberately set," said Mick Beauchamp, fire chief for the Yellowknife Fire Department.

Ivan Pond, a resident of the Con Mine trailer court, suspects the Tin Can Hill fires were set by "some kids walking through the bush with a box of matches." Pond and neighbour, Soren Thomassen, rushed to the scene to help fire crews when they noticed smoke.

The suspicious fires follow two others early June 20 that destroyed one building at the Fred Henne Campground fire and damaged another.

Two helicopters slinging buckets of water quenched the blaze near Fred Henne Saturday when Yellowknife Fire Dept. tankers found they could not reach it.

"We must have dropped at least 20 buckets or more," Beauchamp said.

One helicopter was then sent to Tin Can Hill.

Fire conditions around Yellowknife were "extreme" on June 19. An open fire ban for Yellowknife was issued on June 24.

Extreme conditions

The combination of suspicious fires and extreme conditions has Beauchamp worried about potential pyromaniacs lurking in Yellowknife's wooded areas.

"One of these days they're going to be really successful with (burning) something," Beauchamp said.

The cost of maintaining public safety is also a concern. The cost of renting a helicopter was estimated at around $1,000 an hour.