Officials say a Monday evening blaze at The Forks that filled the downtown sky with thick black smoke was deliberately set.

Docks at The Forks went up in flames for a second time in a week.

Several lanes in the area were shut down, including the Norwood Bridge, so crews could get a handle on the blaze.

"Our major problem here was trying to secure a water supply. We had to secure a hydrant on the other side of Main Street, which involved both northbound and southbound lanes," said Craig Lessard, district fire chief.

The lane closures backed up traffic until about 10 p.m. Monday.

Police said damage is pegged at $40,000 from the fire.

A week ago, a fire in the same area caused $30,000 in damage and also sent clouds of smoke over the city.

Investigators believe that blaze was deliberately set too.

In the April 24 blaze, nine docks were hit by the fire, while another nine were destroyed on April 30.

"It was somewhat unbelievable to know that they were set on fire a second time," Clare MacKay from The Forks.

Police confirmed Tuesday that both fires are considered suspicious.

"Obviously, there is a pattern here – two fires in one week. We are area of patterns and we certainly do deploy resources to combat patterns that we see," said Cont. Chris Wingfield from Winnipeg police.

The docks were set to be used for the first time in two years, after being previously shelved because of high water levels.

"We will rebuild them. We will get them back in, but it just delays our plans and for something that's such a great public amenity, it's just very unfortunate," said MacKay.

The docks are slated to be used for the water-taxi service, which starts in June. Officials said they don't expect that to be delayed.

Officials at The Forks said they are also now looking a different storage options for the docks when not in use, instead of storing them in the open space hit by the fires.

Police said the arson strike force continues to investigate.

Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 986-6813 or Crime Stoppers at 786-8477. 

- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele