Edmonton police investigating several suspicious fires in south Edmonton

The Edmonton Police Service says it's investigating several potential arsons in south Edmonton since May.

The latest incident involved an alleged arson reported in the King Edward Park neighbourhood on Thursday night.

Police said the first in the series was a suspicious fire in Edmonton's Strathearn neighbourhood in May. 

Since then, six additional suspicious fires have been reported to police in the Cloverdale, King Edward Park and Holyrood neighbourhoods.

Edmonton Fire said on Friday that the King Edward Park fire originated in a dumpster and spread to the adjacent detached garage, close to 10:30 p.m.

There were no reported injuries and an estimated $50,000 in damages. 

A cause has not yet been determined, and a deliberately set fire has not been ruled out, according to Edmonton Fire. 

EPS said in a news release that officers will be "proactively patrolling throughout the affected areas in southwest and southeast Edmonton."

Project Gaslight

Edmonton police have arrested and charged six more people in connection with a rash of extortions targeting the South Asian community.

Project Gaslight is a police probe into incidents targeting business owners in Edmonton, alleged to have been carried out by a group of local suspects directed from India.

Forty incidents have been identified in connection to the scheme, including an apartment arson in the Cavanagh neighbourhood in southwest Edmonton in late July. 

Police said on Friday the fires in Cloverdale, King Edward Park and Holyrood neighbourhoods have no connection to Project Gaslight at this time.

"While we are unsure at this time if these incidents are connected, we are actively investigating seven suspicious fires that have thankfully not injured anyone," acting Staff Sgt. Chantelle Kortbeek said in the news release.

Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador said she's fielded concerns from residents in the area.

"I'm deeply saddened and alarmed to hear about the structure fires that are occurring in these communities. Obviously, these are terrifying and distressing incidents for a community to experience," she told CBC in an interview. 

"I know that people in the neighbourhood are understandably scared. They're shaken, and they're looking for answers."