Whoever started the fire at the Whitehorse landfill last Tuesday may have made off with a little dough.
Once the smoke cleared, the gatehouse safe was uncovered from beneath the charred rubble.
And the safe was open.
Whether or not money was stolen is part of the RCMP investigation, said city spokesman Matthew Grant.
“It’s part of the investigation to look at whether it was left open, opened using the code or cracked open.”
Typically a few hundred dollars are kept locked in the safe.
The Whitehorse landfill reopened to the public Saturday morning. The weigh scales were back up and running later that afternoon.
The landfill was closed four days earlier after a suspicious fire completely destroyed the gatehouse.
The gate at the highway had also been torn off.
The city is fully insured for the fire damage, but it’s still unclear how much the damage may cost.
A new, $50,000 computer system was completely destroyed along with the building.
At this point, it doesn’t look like there was any major damage done to the weigh scales adjacent to the gatehouse.
However, the city is awaiting a final report from Weights and Measures Canada to determine the long-term use of the scale.
“Hopefully we can continue to use that one,” said public works manager Dave Muir.
“But if there is a recommendation for replacing it, we’ll have to go with that.”
It would cost around $100,000 to replace the scales.
An ATCO trailer is temporarily standing in as the gatehouse until a new one can be built in the spring.
Contact Chris Oke at chriso@yukon-news.com