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Workers at the Sunridge Ski Area hope to see their deck rebuilt in time for wedding season after the structure was targeted by arson.
Early in the morning on Monday (Jun. 6), security footage at the ski hill caught a person lighting a fire on the outdoor deck and running away.
Edmonton Fire attended the scene at around 1 a.m. after a 911 call came in from a group of cyclists.
“It was started at a time where no one would have been in the park or even noticed on security cameras that it was happening, so without them, I can only imagine how much worse it could have been,” explained Randi Hopkinson, assistant general manager at Sunridge.
“We’ve reached out to the people who called 911 and just thank them because it definitely could have been a lot worse.”
The deck was relatively new, constructed in 2020, and cost the ski resort approximately $30,000 to build. In addition to the burned down deck, a garbage can was lit on fire, and some windows were broken.
Hopkinson says they’re now in a time crunch to tear down the deck and rebuild in time for weddings booked at the resort in August.
“When the investigation is done, we’re going to rip it down and just start planning on getting something up – we can’t have that eyesore there during weddings.”
Strathcona County RCMP confirmed they are looking into the incident, and it is being investigated as arson. Anyone who may have information is asked to call the Strathcona County RCMP at (780) 467-7749, your local police, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.