Halifax

Shelburne County man charged with setting Barrington Lake wildfire, the largest blaze in N.S. history

The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables has laid charges under the Forests Act in connection with the Barrington Lake wildfire last spring.

On Wednesday, the department charged Dalton Clark Stewart, 22 of Villagedale, Shelburne County with lighting a fire on privately owned land without permission, failing to take reasonable efforts to prevent the spread of fire and leaving a fire unattended.

Stewart is scheduled to appear in Shelburne provincial court March 7.

The fire, which broke out May 26, is the largest recorded fire in the province’s history. It burned more than 23,300 hectares of land and destroyed 93 buildings, including 49 homes.

More than 6,000 people were forced from their homes by the fire.

The blaze grew in size for more than a week before it was held and didn’t expand any farther. It was declared under control June 13, but was not declared fully out until several weeks later. 

People convicted of violations of the Forests Act can be fined up to $50,000 and/or face up to six months in prison on each charge.

Orlando Fraser, director of the department’s conservation service, said the charges have been laid in the province before, but he isn’t sure how often or to what extent. The charge can be laid no matter the size of the fire.

He wouldn’t comment on the nature of the fire that Stewart is alleged to have started that led to the fire.

“Those are details of the investigation that we will bring forward in court,” Fraser said. “I can’t state any of the details today.”

See also  Cell lockdowns because of staff shortages ruled illegal by N.S. Supreme Court

He said there are no other charges or arrests anticipated at this point in connection with the Barrington Lake fire.

Besides the Forest Act charges, Stewart could be facing civil action from landowners who suffered losses, but Fraser said that is “out of my scope.”

People who cause fires can also be held liable for costs associated with extinguishing a fire, but Fraser said that is an issue for the courts to decide should the Public Prosecution Service make a recommendation that it be included in sentencing.

Similar charges have resulted in convictions in other provinces.

Fraser said the investigation into the fire was extensive.

“We started this just shortly after the fire was reported. We would have had several (conservation) officers investigating this fire. … We conducted a comprehensive investigation of the fire, which was a priority for us.”

He said he isn’t aware of any charges being filed by the RCMP in connection with the fire.

Fraser said there were tips received from the public that helped in the investigation.

“We had some public information that we followed up, yes.”

There were also calls from people over the past seven month wondering why charges hadn’t been laid yet with the information they had seen was being shared on social media.

“I understand that Nova Scotians want details and a response on these fires. … We want to do a good job and investigate these matters fully and thoroughly. These investigations do take time,” he said. 

“People do reach out to us and we explain the lengths and complexities of these investigations. I always ask for people’s patience. I know people want answers, but sometimes it just takes longer than the expectations may be on some of these things.”

See also  Online voting opens for N.S. Healthcare Improvement Challenge

DNRR is still investigating the Tantallon wildfire, which started two days after the Barrington Lake fire.

Under the Forests Act, the department has two years from the date of an alleged offence to lay charges.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button