The Cost of Carelessness: Fines and fires
By Lynne Bell
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听听听听听听听听听听听 In the wake of the Fort McMurray wildfires-which have displaced over 80,000 people, destroyed large parts of the city, stalled industry, and have set a new record for damage and destruction-Alberta's Minister of Forestry has stated that current fines for human fire starters are 鈥渘ot steep enough鈥� and should be raised substantially.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Oneil Carlier told the CBC that the current Alberta fine of $5,000 for burning an outdoor fire without due care and attention-for individuals and corporations-should be raised. Carter suggests that the penalty for a person who starts a wildfire be increased to fines of $100,000 for individuals and $1 million for corporations.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚t's a good deterrent,鈥� said Carlier. 鈥淚 think it's resonating with people. I think Albertans want to be safe, they want to keep themselves safe, their communities, their fellow citizens.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Although the cause of the Fort Mac fires are unknown at the time of writing, this forest fire season seems to -unfortunately-be threatening to rival last year's wildfire warnings on the Prairies, when raging fires resulted in mass evacuations throughout northern Saskatchewan.
听听听听听听听听听听听 This has prompted some provinces to re-examine the penalties they will mete out in the interest of preventing fires caused by human error and/or negligence.
听听听听听听听听听听听 In Saskatchewan, punishments in the province's Wildfires Act are currently some of the toughest in the country and are the template for Alberta's propsed changes. Individuals are fined a maximum of $500,000 鈥渇or each day or part of a day during which the offence continues,鈥� and/or imprisonment for up to three years. And corporations are fined up to $1 million per day or part of a day, during which the fire continues.
听听听听听听听听听听听 However, in spite of these tough punishments, a recent fire in Swift Current destroyed three homes. No one has been arrested, but fire officials have determined that the blaze was caused by a smoldering cigarette butt tossed on the nearby ground-and the individual responsible may not even be aware that their actions caused this fire.
听听听听听听听听听听听 One of the most newsworthy penalities for careless fire-starting behaviors comes from British Columbia. When B.C.'s provincial government first raised the idea-last summer- of vehicle seizures for anyone who threw a cigarette butt out of a car, public opinion ran the gamut from: 鈥淎bout time!鈥� to 鈥淯nconstitutional.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 听At the time, the B.C. Goverment said in a press release: 鈥淭his wildfire season has been one of the most challenging in recent memory. As of July 14, 2015, fire crews have responded to 1,083 fires throughout the province-compared to 523 at the same time a year ago. Of those fires, we know over one-third are human caused. That's 375 fires, leading to an estimated 43,718 hectares going up in flames.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 The document acknowledged that most people are 鈥渞espectful, careful people who help protect our forests from devastating wildfires. But there are still too many individuals who haven't heard the message and continue to make careless decisions that lead to wildfires.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 With another dry summer forecast on the Prairies, governments are doing their utmost to manage the threat of wildfires-logistically and legally. And most people are using common sense and caution, too.
听听听听听听听听听听听 In the words of Mike Morris from B.C.'s Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations: 鈥淣aturally occurring fires from sources like lightning are difficult enough for our dedicated firefighters to handle. If we're going to continue to ask them to put their lives on the line to keep people and property safe, we need to do everything we can to end behaviors that lead to needless wildfires.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 听
Increase the fines
By Kelly Running
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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The other day I was speaking with someone who had helped with a garbage cleanup in and around Carlyle. The statement they made regarding the cleanup was that she couldn鈥檛 believe how many empty cigarette packs and disposable coffee cups were in the ditches.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It seems as though people would rather discard their trash from a window than hang onto it for a few more kilometres to discard it in a rubbish bin, whether at home, a gas station, or some other stop.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Not only does it seem like smokers discard their empty packs, but a lot of time people will flip a cigarette butt out the window and oftentimes there鈥檚 no problem other than they have littered, however, in dry conditions a smouldering cigarette butt can cause a much larger problem: fire.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Up until the day I write this the entirety of the Prairie Provinces were under a red, high risk zone for fire. Thankfully we鈥檙e getting rain now, but while we were watching the Fort McMurray fires and were worried about the potential elsewhere on the prairies, Lynne happened to find an article stating that in British Columbia a new law was being looked at.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The new law would increase penalties related to fire offences. It would go so far as to increase fines for failing to extinguish a campfire properly, ban people who have campfire when fire bans are on from provincial parks, and even impound the vehicles of people who flick cigarette butts out of their windows as they鈥檙e driving along.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Fire, although used by mother nature to create new life 鈥� prairie grasses are never as green as they are when the regrowth after a fire begins 鈥� the element can be extremely destructive as we鈥檝e seen in Fort McMurray and as a few families saw in Swift Current not long ago as fire took one house and damaged two others. The cause in Swift was likely a cigarette butt tossed to the wayside by someone.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, when I look at the harsher laws regarding fire laws in B.C. it makes me think that it might be for the best considering just how damaging one small cigarette butt or a stray spark can be.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Some people think that the potential B.C. changes are a little bit strong and are simply too much, but when you look at how damaging fire can be, is it really that far out there? How else do you get people to stop doing something than with a hard line like impounding a vehicle?
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I don鈥檛 smoke, so the law wouldn鈥檛 affect me, but if you smoke in your vehicle why not just use the little ashtray in there and hang onto the cigarette butt until you can dispose of things safely? I don鈥檛 get why you鈥檇 just toss something that although seemingly insignificant can actually cause that much damage.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 As far as ensuring fires are out and abiding by fire ban laws, I would have to also say I agree. I enjoy camping and campfires are one of my favourite things about camping. I absolutely love the heat it gives off during the summer night, the smell, and watching the flames dancing through the night. But, I know that a fire can smoulder if not properly put out and that fire bans exist for a reason 鈥� safety 鈥� which means that to ignore them is to risk your life and everyone else鈥檚 in the area where you are.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, up the fines and hopefully stop the perpetrators because although they are few and far between it only takes one to cause the damage.
