We sincerely hope that last Saturday’s extremely careless act of leaving a campfire unattended won’t be the norm in Oliver this summer.
Here are a few words to describe our thoughts when we heard that someone walked away from a campfire in the vicinity of Loose Bay on May 28: Shock, dumbfounded, unbelievable, disbelief, anger . . you get the picture.
That fire could have wiped out the whole campground and kept going to wreak havoc on people’s lives.
Thanks to that one individual, the fire department has now implemented a total ban on campfires. If you want to test it, be prepared to pay a $125 fine, and much more if your fire causes property damage.
We can’t fathom how anyone could even consider leaving a campfire unattended, even for one minute, regardless how small it is. Sparks and embers can easily ignite surrounding grass and brush. Even in spring time. Despite rain, grass dries up very quickly, and all it takes is a cigarette butt or a spark to result in a raging fire that cannot be stopped with simple fire hoses.
We applaud the fire department for taking this stance, and we hope the person responsible for last Saturday’s act learns something about responsibility and accountability.
PS: The burning ban implemented by the BC Wildfire Service should also apply to Native reserves. On Thursday a burning barrel on Harmony Crescent could have resulted in a structure fire. Federal jurisdiction shouldn’t matter.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
