The Toronto Humber Yacht Club fire is being investigated as a suspected arson
City council terminated the organization’s lease last month, alleging repeated violations of its lease agreement
After a three-alarm fire broke out at the Toronto Humber Yacht Club early yesterday morning, the organization’s vice-commodore, Wilson DaSilva, seemed to believe it had been set intentionally, telling the Toronto Sun, “I guess there are people who really don’t want us here.”
Related: The Toronto Humber Yacht Club has three months to prove it can behave
The yacht club has been entangled in controversy for years, with complaints about alleged encroachment on non-leased lands, unauthorized structures including patios and gazebos and holding bonfires, as well as allegations that operators and members have shown aggressive behaviour. Neighbours have said that jet skis and boats threaten the natural habitat along the Humber River. Earlier this year, city council voted to terminate the club’s lease. The yacht club filed a notice to have that decision reviewed.
Toronto police have now confirmed the fire is being investigated as a suspected arson, according to CP24.
They have not identified any suspects or commented on a possible motive.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
