Officials in B.C. say that carelessness is continuing to cause wildfires, despite hefty new fines aimed at cracking down.
The BC Wildfire Service says that about 20 of the 30 or so fires started over the weekend are believed to be human-caused. Those include the blazes near Harrison Hot Springs and Whistler.
The fires are continuing to happen despite a tougher Wildfire Act that saw 153 people receive tickets ranging from $307 to $1,150 in 2016.
Among the culprits are campfires that haven’t been fully extinguished. Another cause is tossed cigarettes.
Chris Keon, an assistant chief of the Surrey fire department, says that brush and grass fires -- mostly caused by cigarettes -- are up by about 30 per cent year over year.
The City of Vancouver, meanwhile, has a new $500 fine for tossing “smoking material in a hazardous way.”
With a report from CTV Vancouver
