Authorities are taking a new step in their bid to find the person or people responsible for more than a dozen suspicious fires around Wellington County.

Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington announced Thursday that their usual minimum reward of $50 for information leading to an arrest or conviction has been increased to $1,000 for helpful tips about the fires.

Sarah Bowers-Peter, the program co-ordinator of Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington, says it’s a step that has never been taken locally before.

“(We recognize) the seriousness of suspicious fires in our community and the impact these incidents of the past few months could have on public safety,” she said in a news release.

The reward covers 13 fires, the oldest of which dates back to last September. While the bulk of them have occurred in Guelph-Eramosa, the list also includes three fires from Puslinch, and one apiece from Guelph, Mapleton and Erin.

The Erin fire is the most recent one. It involved bales of straw burning Wednesday morning at a property near the intersection of the Third Line and the Erin/Halton Townline.

No injuries have been reported in any of the fires, most of which have taken place at abandoned buildings.

The increased reward initiative will last until April 1.

Crime Stoppers can be contacted at 1-800-222-8477 or via its website. The organization keeps the identities of people who have contacted it anonymous.

Wellington County OPP are also interested in hearing from anyone with information about the fires.

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Suspicious fires subject to Crime Stoppers’ reward offer