Police believe several fires in Edmonton this year are arson and are asking communities to remain vigilant.

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) said Friday it is investigating seven suspicious fires in south Edmonton.

The first fire occurred in Strathearn in May, the EPS said, and six others have since been reported in Cloverdale, King Edward Park and Holyrood.

Police do not believe any of them are linked to the fires and extortion of South Asian homebuilders.

Residents in affected areas are asked to come forward with any information about suspicious activity in their community or any security camera footage that may be helpful.

“While we are unsure at this time if these incidents are related, we are actively investigating seven suspicious fires which fortunately did not cause injury to anyone,” said EPS Acting Staff Sgt. . Chantelle Kortbeek.

“As this investigation continues, we ask residents to be alert for unusual activity in their neighborhood. Reporting these activities will assist us in our efforts to identify and arrest the suspect(s) behind these arsons.

Officers will patrol affected neighborhoods, EPS said, and residents are encouraged to make sure doorbell cameras are registered and working.

Edmonton Fire Services said there have been 656 structure fires in Edmonton so far this year. Investigators found that 202 of them had been deliberately fixed.

Anyone with information can call police at 780-423-4567 or #311 from a cell phone.

Anonymous information can be provided to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com.