SLAVE LAKE, Alberta, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The Slave Lake wildfire that caused about $700 million in damage last spring was set deliberately, officials in Canada's Albert province said Tuesday.
The case has been turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
"Our investigation into the origin of that fire ruled out everything but arson as a probable cause," Sustainable Resource Development Minister Frank Oberle said. "As a result, we have delivered our findings to the RCMP to determine if a criminal investigation is the next step."
Oberle said the government's investigation into the mid-May blaze that burned much of the community of Slave Lake took so long because of "the time required to protect, collect, analyze and document evidence to the rigorous standards required for presentation in a court of law."
The fire blacked 4,700 hectares, destroyed about 400 homes and other structures, and forced the evacuation of about 7,000 people.
The CBC said the blaze ranked only behind the 1998 Quebec ice storm on the list of Canada's worst insured-damage disasters ever.
