Province launches enhanced wildfire website, strengthens penalties ahead of fire season

The provincial government has launched an enhanced wildfire information website and introduced stronger penalties for fire-related offences.

The new Wildfire Prevention and Management website serves as a central source for wildfire information, including daily fire risk levels, active wildfire updates, fire statistics and prevention guidelines.

The website also outlines changes to provincial legislation and regulations that came into effect on June 3 following amendments to the Forestry Act and associated regulations.

Among the changes, fireworks and sky lanterns are now prohibited when the Fire Weather Index is rated high, very high or extreme.

The province has also introduced new requirements for sawmills aimed at reducing wildfire risks. Sawmills must maintain a minimum 30-metre buffer of non-flammable material between residue piles and surrounding vegetation. Mill owners are also required to develop residue management plans detailing how waste materials will be handled to prevent forest fires and environmental damage. Failure to comply with an approved plan could result in the suspension of all or part of a mill's operations.

Under the new rules, the penalty for deliberately setting a forest fire ranges from $100,000 to $500,000.

A new offence has also been created for recklessly or negligently causing a forest fire. Convictions for that offence carry penalties ranging from $50,000 to $150,000.

Minimum fines of $50,000 now apply to several high-risk activities, including lighting a fire without a valid permit, failing to comply with a ministerial fire prohibition order, lighting an outdoor fire when the Fire Weather Index is very high or extreme, using fireworks or sky lanterns during periods of elevated fire danger, and leaving a fire unattended or failing to ensure it is fully extinguished before leaving the area.

Other penalties have also been revised.

Individuals who continue cutting or removing trees, or engage in activities likely to cause a forest fire after an operating permit has been suspended or cancelled, face fines ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.

Fines of $1,000 to $5,000 apply to logging or industrial operations conducted without an operating permit, as well as operating all-terrain vehicles or other motorized vehicles on forest land without required spark-arresting devices or fire extinguishers.

Improper storage or transportation of gasoline and other flammable liquids on forest land can result in penalties ranging from $150 to $1,000.

The government says the changes are intended to improve wildfire prevention, strengthen enforcement measures and increase public awareness during the province's forest fire season.