Remnants of bonfires in the old Grauer land in Terra Nova have been spotted by at least one local resident and he is worried one day they will get out of control.
Gurdial Dale Badh, who lives in the Terra Nova area, said he sees remnants of fires almost every weekend. Given the recent dry spell – and hundreds of wildfires across the province – Badh is worried about a larger fire that could jump to the residential area.
“Once that thing starts, it’s just going to spread,” he told the Richmond News.
Furthermore, several large signs put up by the city warning against fires seem to have been pulled down, Badh explained.
Richmond fire chief Tim Wilkinson said the area has been a “favourite” place for teens to build fires for years, and, when they are made aware of a fire, the fire department tries to talk to them to educate them about the danger and get them to comply.
But repeat offenders and those who are argumentative can be slapped with a hefty fine.
Richmond bylaws allow fines that fully recover the costs of the fire department response and cleanup of the scene, “which as you can image could be very costly,” Wilkinson said.
Badh said he’d like to see more patrols by RCMP during the evening and on weekends to curtail bonfires.
Brush fires caused by cigarettes
Besides, bonfires, the summer has been marked by a significant number of brush fires started by cigarette butts being thrown out of vehicle windows, Wilkinson said.
“This is a dangerous and irresponsible action,” he added.
