This Summers wildfire scares have pushed the British Columbia government to consider some aggressive laws to prevent future damage. One of the potential penalties may be having your car impounded for throwing a cigarette out of your vehicle. This may seam extreme but BC's recent forest fire stats are disturbing:
- 1083 Forest Fires this summer vs. only 523 last year.
- Nearly 1/3 of these fires were caused by humans.
"Should we double the fine for failing to extinguish a campfire? Should we ban those who break campfire bans from using our provincial parks? Should we impound the vehicles of those who flick lit cigarette butts from their car windows?"
Mike Morris (Parliamentary Secretary to
Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations)
Exceedingly dry conditions have made British Columbia a dangerous place without the added threat of carelessly placed cigarettes.
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How do you feel about this proposed solution to lowering forest fire rates in british columbia? What is the best solution?
