At their meeting on Sept. 2, Tudor and Cashel Township council heard a motion from Councillor Elain Holloway asking them to look at reviewing their current fire bylaw to make it more prohibitive and costly for residents who ignore fire bans and continue to have wildfires during these bans. After a discussion, council directed CAO Nancy Carrol to look into this and bring back the bylaw to their Oct. 7 meeting. Holloway and Carrol comment to The Bancroft Times on Holloway’s motion to council.
Holloway told council at their Sept. 2 meeting that she’d been looking at the bylaw regarding the fire ban and what the fines were and they didn’t seem nearly enough considering the scope of the potential risks of firefighters protecting the safety of residents and visitors.
“That should be a priority and ongoing threats of wildfires are being faced regularly. They believe that they are going to become more frequent and intense and there are more and more communities facing these impacts firsthand and we’ve seen that this summer even closer to home. Examples of fires in other communities. I think the fines should be more strict,” she says.
Council then had a discussion about wildfires and culpability in different scenarios with regard to these fires and different fines levied in other parts of the country. Through a question by Hederson, they also determined that the province would come after any potential fire starters and sue them to recoup the costs of extinguishing the blaze. Councillor Jerry Chadwick looked it up and said the fines were $50,000 and/or one year in jail if you were found liable for starting a wildfire that caused damages.
Holloway stressed that she wanted to increase the fines the township levied ($500) in addition to any other costs levied by the province to make it even more prohibitive for those who have fires during a fire ban, in contravention of said ban.
“I think we need to look into this further because the intensity and potential for forest fires, especially with the financial impact of the ice storm we had, it’s something we need to take seriously. I don’t believe all our residents are, and not just in Tudor and Cashel. The mayor of Limerick came on social media a few day after the fire ban and thanked their fire department for putting out a campfire after the fire ban had been called.
“So people are being neglectful. I don’t know who can pay because we’re saying with the fire ban you may be responsible for putting out these fires and the costs. A large water bomber can coast as much as $22,000 per hour and it can cost as much as $65,000 per drop for a large tanker. Then you’re paying wages, anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 for these individuals to fight these fires. I don’t think our fire ban and penalties are strict enough to get the message out,” she says
Holloway echoed the call for Carrol to bring the information back to council at their Oct. 7 meeting.
“We can talk about it moving forward,” she says.
Hederson recalled when he used to have two fires going on his property and the fire marshal at the time came over the hill to warn him of the fire ban and said he could’ve fined him $500 but let him off with a warning.
“That was the first time I even realized and nowadays I don’t have the fire. If it says only after 7 p.m. and I know this last [fire ban] said you could only have a campfire two feet by two feet, and I was going to go out and burn the burnable garbage and I thought it would be bigger than that so I didn’t do it. I didn’t want anybody coming over the hill and saying I’m going to fine you $500. That means something,” he says.
Carrol told council she could talk about two incident where people who had fires during the ban were not only fined by the township but also had to pay for all costs associated with the fire department having to come out to deal with the situation.
“We billed them for all costs associated with the fires in question, which they paid. If you see someone having a fire call 911, that’s who deals with it, and then we bill them the$500 fine on top of the costs associated with the call,” she says.
Hederson acknowledged that the direction had been given to Carrol on this issue and then council moved on to other business.
Carrol said that the current fines are laid out in Bylaw 2012-0008, and is on their website at www.tudorandcashel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/By-Law-Fire.pdf.
“I will be reaching out to the MNRF, they are in wildfire season right now though so I will open discussions when they are available. I will be reviewing the Fire Protection Act and the fire code to see what authority and penalties are legislated,” she says.
Holloway told The Bancroft Times on Sept. 3 that regarding her concerns about wildfire fines, she was encouraged to hear that council was open to reviewing their current fire ban bylaw. She said it was deeply troubling to learn that despite the active fire bans in Tudor and Cashel and the surrounding communities, some individuals chose to ignore them.
“Fire Smart and the MNRF have been generous sponsors of our Canada Day events, showing up with teams dedicated to educating residents about wildfire prevention and fire safety. The township consistently provides updates, training, and resources on this critical issue, which makes it all the more surprising—and frankly disappointing—that anyone would disregard a fire ban. Living north of Hwy. 7, we’re surrounded by dense forest, and ignorance of fire safety is simply not acceptable. I’m eager to learn more about what other townships and the province are doing to safeguard residents, visitors, and our broader community. We’re being told that wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, and while I’ve been fortunate not to experience one personally this year, many of our family and friends have faced evacuations and property loss. The destruction is heartbreaking. We may not be able to prevent every fire, but through clear communication, ongoing education, and meaningful penalties for violations, we can take responsible steps to reduce risk,” she says. “It’s our duty to do all we can.”