Last week, a shared Rogers Telus cell tower in Laval, Quebec, caught on fire, endangering homes in the area. Now, it appears more cell towers have suspiciously caught on fire in Quebec, yet again.
According to CBC News, firefighters were called to a cell tower fire in Piédmont early Monday morning around 3:40AM EDT. The tower on city property is used by Telus, according to the director of the town and is not 5G.
About 20 minutes later, another Rogers cell tower was found ablaze in Prévost, in what was deemed a minor fire. This tower owned by Rogers houses wireless equipment from Bell.
Police say the cause of both fires are unknown but labelled as suspicious.
Why might people be lighting cell towers on fire? Conspiracy theories on the internet believe 5G cell towers are the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5G is the next-generation of wireless, capable of delivering faster and improved connections. Other countries around the world have similarly seen cell towers lit up, as people believe 5G caused coronavirus.
According to Mariepier Des Lauriers, spokeswoman for the town of Prevost, she told the National Post many residents have brought up “unfounded conspiracy theories linking 5G cellphone technology to COVID-19,” in recent weeks.
According to Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada Minister Navdeep Bains, he said this morning he was “very troubled” by reports of cell tower fires in Canada, labelling them “criminal acts.”
“Very troubled by the reports of vandalism of Canadian cell towers,” said Bains. “As many of us are staying home, we’re relying on wireless and internet services to connect to our work, school, and loved ones. These criminal acts are completely unacceptable and threaten emergency services,” added the Minister.
Quebec provincial police say they will be coordinating with police in Laval to see if the two incidents are related and also tied to 5G conspiracy theories.
The stay at home order has made people go crazy, it appears. Note to self: don’t light cell towers on fire.
Update: A Telus spokesperson told iPhone in Canada in a statement, “When vital 4G LTE infrastructure is destroyed by criminal acts, lives are put at risk by removing the ability for local citizens to call 911. Our networks are more important than ever during the COVID-19 crisis in enabling Canadians to stay connected to their jobs, schools, medical help, government services, and loved ones. We are actively working with law enforcement to protect our network infrastructure to ensure we can continue offering critical services to our customers.”
