Nearly $50,000 in fines were handed out on the B.C. Day long weekend for illegal campfires.
It was a slap in the face.
Even as fires burned in every corner of the province, people were still not taking the precautions that are not only common sense, but are required by law. Why aren’t people getting it?
Dropped cigarette butts are frequent culprits, as are illegal campfires. Then there are those who do things such as send open flame lanterns floating into the sky without any thought to where they’re going to come down. That actually happened in Qualicum Beach this month. It was only extreme luck that a fire wasn’t started.
What will it take for people to take the fire risk seriously, and connect their own behaviour to that risk? There seems to be a disconnect. A “that won’t happen to me” feeling. But it can happen to you. It’s happening all over the province.
Last week, as fires near Crofton, Nanaimo and Alberni were tamed, an evacuation alert was issued for Zeballos. The risk is real and the evidence is unmistakeable
Maybe people will take this seriously: fines for breaking campfire bans are $1,150. Think that’s extreme? Try paying for the cost of fighting a wildfire. The bill this year is $170 million and counting. Last year’s record-breaking fire season cost the province $564 million. That hits us all in the pocketbook come tax time.
We’ve so far been fortunate that Island wildfires have — as of this writing — yet to devour any homes. All too often people’s lives are turned upside down with evacuations, only to learn that almost everything they have has been lost to the flames. Imagine losing everything from your clothing to your furniture, to your photos.
We’re nowhere near the end of fire season yet. We implore everyone to make sure that our forest fire count doesn’t grow.