A crackdown on people who may cause wildfires has ignited support.
Proposed legislative amendments include provisions aimed specifically at people who interfere with firefighting efforts in B.C.
“Between 30 and 40 per cent of wildfires in B.C. are caused by humans,” said Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee MLA.
“Wildfire prevention is everyone’s responsibility, and these legislative amendments contain tough new regulations to discourage people from interfering with our firefighting crews, and violating our wildfire laws.”
Additional legislative changes will result in significantly increased ticket fines for 19 violations under the Wildfire Act and for seven violations under Wildfire Regulation.
For example, the fine for failing to comply with a fire restriction under the Wildfire Act is increasing from $345 (including a $45 victim surcharge) to $1,150 (including a $150 victim surcharge).
The proposed amendments would also clarify that interference does not have to be intentional to constitute a contravention of the Wildfire Act.
The 2015 fire season saw more than 283,400 hectares burned and more than $278 million spent on wildfire management.
