A Port Alberni man was ticketed more than $500 for a discarded cigarette.
The 50-year-old man was observed driving along Johnston Road on Wednesday morning by a concerned citizen, reportedly flicking the ash off his lit cigarette out of his driver’s side window before discarding the cigarette at the intersection of Johnston and Helen Street. Port Alberni RCMP responded to this report and the man was issued a $575 ticket under the Wildfire Act.
“Especially at this time of year when everything is so dangerously dry and with the new wildfires recently started, this type of behaviour is not only unlawful but completely unacceptable and very dangerous,” said Cpl. Amelia Hayden, Media Relations Officer with the Port Alberni RCMP.
“There are dry grassy areas all along our roadways and it doesn’t take much to start a fire these days.”
On the same afternoon, a Port Alberni RCMP officer came across a small grass fire in the 3600 block of Fifth Avenue. People had been seen in the immediate area minutes before the fire started, and it is believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette. The officer extinguished the fire, and the fire department was called to water down the area and prevent a future flare up.
