'There is nothing left': Wonder Harbour Comics closed after two fires in one week

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Wonder Harbour Comics is closed after two fires hit the business in eight days.

In a tweet published Sunday, the business said arson struck the shop on the corner of 105 Avenue and 105 Street, damaging the business beyond recovery.

A GoFundMe campaign posted to the business’s Facebook page said Wonder Harbour Comics has been destroyed.

“They spread gasoline throughout the store, and lit a fire that consumed everything,” the crowdfunding page said. “There is nothing left.”

Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday morning, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) received a 911 call for a structure fire at a commercial business at 105 Street and 105 Avenue, spokeswoman Brittany Eveneshen told Postmedia in an email statement.

Fire crews responding to the scene a few minutes later found heavy smoke, but had the fire under control at 2:41 a.m. before declaring it out at 5:20 a.m., Eveneshen added.

While the incident saw no reported injuries, EFRS noted, there was a separate fire at the location on March 20, the Sunday prior.

In an earlier series of tweets beginning March 21, Wonder Harbour Comics said it had been closed while it worked to return power to the shop after a recent fire. A follow-up tweet on Friday noted that the shop had its power restored and was “back in business” two days before the second fire.

The smell of smoke still wafted from the building Sunday afternoon although the exterior betrayed little indication of damage beyond windows that appear to have been tinted by smoke.

The crowdfunding page for the business said while the building will survive, all the work the Wonder Harbour team put into building the business has been lost.

Formerly known as Happy Harbour Comics and located on 107 Street and 104 Avenue, the business was due to close in January 2019 until it was sold to Vincent Joyall, owner of Wonderland game and comic book stores in Prince George, B.C. and Grande Prairie, Alta., about 460 km northwest of Edmonton.

“We are devastated,” the crowdfunding page said.

Source: EdmontonJournal