The bus shelters in Wood Buffalo seem to be having a tough time lately, and many were only recently put back into operation due to exposed wiring problems. Now vandalism has destroyed 8 of the bus shelters in Fort McMurray and the RMCP is trying to find out who is responsible. The vandalism was first reported when police were contacted on January 11 by the transit authority for the municipality. Eight bus shelters had been targeted, and there was significant glass breakage at each of the bus shelters. The estimated cost to repair the damages that the vandal(s) caused is $6,000 and a criminal investigation into the matter has been initiated. Right now there have not been any suspects identified and police are asking that anyone who has any information about the vandalism contact the Wood buffalo RCMP.

According to Cst. Ashley Qualle, the Wood Buffalo RCMP spokesperson, police do not suspect that the exposed bus shelter wiring problems in December were intentionally caused or the result of vandalism. The latest bus shelter incident was intentional though. Six of the eight bus shelters that were vandalized were located in the Timberlea neighborhood and situated on or near Eagle Ridge’s Loutit Road. One of the bus shelters affected was in downtown Fort McMurray, and the last shelter damaged was situated in Beacon Hill. Cst. Quallie explained that no evidence has been found to connect the vandalism with the wiring issue in December, and stated “Our investigation is still ongoing. There is no evidence to believe they are related, we are focusing on looking for any information from the public.”