Potential disaster was averted again on the Coast last week by the brave actions of the B.C. Forest Service and our Coastal firefighters.
For the second time in as many weeks, a forest fire was contained from the air and on the ground, but unlike the fire three weeks ago in Porpoise Bay, which was caused by high winds that knocked down a hydro line, the fire last Wednesday in Pender Harbour was human caused.
A group of young kids, between the ages of 10 and 12, was shooting off fireworks on a hill overlooking Hotel Lake. One of the fireworks blew back in the wind and started the hill on fire. The flames quickly spread in the tinder dry conditions. To their credit, the youths didn't just run and hide. They tried to put out the fire, and when they were unsuccessful, they called 911 and reported the fire to authorities.
Police and fire officials interviewed the youths on the scene when they arrived. They were remorseful and took responsibility for their actions. Sunshine Coast RCMP say they will be put through the restorative justice program. Hopefully the young people have learned a valuable lesson. They did a stupid thing and the situation could have ended in a major disaster. Maybe some community service is in order, maybe some time with the fire department or B.C. Forest Service learning about the dangers of fire and the dangers of using fireworks - anything to show these youths what they did was wrong and teach them a lesson so they won't do something like this again.
But that shouldn't be the end of it. The guardians of these youngsters should also be punished. How about a hefty fine for allowing these kids to play irresponsibly with fireworks in the first place? - or a bill for the tremendous expense incurred by the firefighters who put their lives at risk to contain this fire and ensure there was no loss of life or property.
This idea is not without precedence. Just last winter, search and rescue crews on the North Shore started to fine people the cost of rescuing injured or lost skiers when they purposefully went out of bounds. Those skiers deliberately broke the rules and entered the backcountry in areas where they had no business being. They were rescued, again at considerable risk to the search crews.
If you do the crime, you should pay a fine.
