RCMP in Cranbrook, B.C., are investigating a series of suspicious fires on Wednesday night that could have threatened the entire city.

Officials suspect a firebug lit at least a half-a-dozen fires in the huge community forest that rings the southeastern interior city, according to fire information officer Gwen Eamer.

The fire department and Forest Service were called to put out the fires, the largest of which grew to only one hectare.

Fire information officer Gwen Eamer said the fires were quickly put out, but the situation could have been much worse, if not for the cool, wet weather over the last few days.

Cranbrook's community forest is massive and often tinder dry in the summers. It surrounds the town, with the College of the Rockies campus and hundreds of houses right on the edge of the trees.

"The fires near Cranbrook posed completely unacceptable risks to forest areas and to structures. It's important to realize these fires were entirely preventable and it's an unacceptable risk," said Eamer.

RCMP are investigating and anyone caught deliberately lighting fires could be sent to jail or fined up to a $1 million, Eamer said

"Individuals who cause a wildfire can be held liable for suppression related costs, so when you factor in tankers and helicopters, it's not cheap…. So it's not something to be taken lightly."