Man charged with arson, breaking and entering on Chipewyan Prairie First Nation

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Police patrolling the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation have accused a man of breaking into a home and starting fires shortly after nearby wildfires caused the First Nation’s leadership to trigger an evacuation.

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Wood Buffalo RCMP say that shortly after 9:50 a.m. on Friday, officers patrolling the First Nation were told that a break and enter at a home was in progress. Staff Sergeant Amanda Clayton, a spokesperson for Alberta RCMP, said in an interview the alleged incident was spotted by someone remaining on the First Nation.

Officers arriving at the home found local firefighters extinguishing a fire. The suspect had left but was found at a nearby home’s construction site. Police arrested the man without incident.

Timothy Justin Herman, 41, of Chard (also known as Janvier) has been charged with two counts each of breaking and entering, arson and breaching probation. He remains in police custody and made his first appearance on Monday in the Alberta Court of Justice in Fort McMurray.

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The leadership of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation ordered an evacuation on July 18. A voluntary evacuation for seniors, young children, people with breathing issues and other people considered vulnerable was organized on July 17.

The neighbouring municipal hamlet of Janvier is under an evacuation warning. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) has not ordered an evacuation of the hamlet, although most residents have left. MEG Energy has removed all non-essential staff from their Christina Lake site.

Anyone with information about any missing people or criminal activity in the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region is asked to contact Wood Buffalo RCMP at 780-788-4040 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). Tips to Crime Stoppers are always anonymous and can be sent to tipsubmit.com.

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As of Monday evening, there are three wildfire clusters burning across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.

The cluster of wildfires threatening Janvier and the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation are being called the Kettle River Complex. These wildfires are 12 kilometres north of Janvier, 12 kilometres north of Conklin and three kilometres from Highway 881. Some wildfires are within within a 10 kilometre radius of industrial sites.

The wildfires range from more than four square kilometres in size to roughly nine square kilometres. They are all burning out of control.

The wildfire closest to Janvier is being fought by 77 firefighters and three task force division leaders. Heavy equipment operators are building fire breaks, and helicopter pilots have been able to use night vision equipment to attack the fires at night. The movements of the wildfire northeast of Conklin are being monitored.

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Southwest of Fort McMurray is the Algar Lake Complex. It is 10 kilometres west of Highway 63 and 40 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray.

There are 104 personnel from Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario fighting this wildfire. More wildland firefighters and heavy equipment operators arrived today, along with equipment and a 15-person incident management team.

Eight helicopters attacked the wildfire and eleven pieces of heavy equipment were used to build guards. Controlled burns were also used to slow growth.

Wildfire north of Fort McMurray largest in Alberta

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