Cigarette butts possible source
Fire chiefs in Georgetown and Murray River say conditions are very dry in P.E.I.
“It’s only going to take the right conditions and the right timing. … Had those people not been driving by when they drove by, in five minutes time I don’t know what we would have been dealing with.”
Roy Wood
Chief of Georgetown Fire Department
Fire departments in Kings County have dealt with several grass fires this spring, and at least two of them appear to have started due to discarded cigarette butts.
Roy Wood, chief of the Georgetown Fire Department, said a cigarette butt was found earlier this month at the source of a fire beside Route 3 in Georgetown Royalty that almost spread into the woods.
The fire broke out on the afternoon of April 10 alongside the highway between the Wharf Road and Brudenell park. It was spotted by a school bus driver, who along with another person helped get it under control before the firefighters arrived.
It only took a few minutes to extinguish the 30 by 20 foot spot, but it could have been much worse, Wood said.
“It was two feet from a wooded lot and it had a lot of (post-tropical storm) Fiona damage in it, so it could have been bad,” Wood said. “It’s only going to take the right conditions and the right timing. … Had those people not been driving by when they drove by, in five minutes time I don’t know what we would have been dealing with.”
As P.E.I. enters its second wildfire season since Fiona, Wood said fire departments have enough on their hands without people causing more trouble by throwing cigarette butts out the window.
“There is a lot of deadfall in the woods and you’re just adding more fuel.”
Meanwhile, the Murray River and Murray Harbour fire departments have dealt with two fires this month in southeastern Kings County.
A fire off Greek River Road three weeks ago is believed to have started from a discarded cigarette butt.
“I don’t really have any concrete evidence, but it started on the shoulder of the road and burned down near the ditch and into the field," said Troy Ferguson, chief of the Murray River Fire Department. "That’s what we’re leaning towards (as the cause).”
Last week, another grass fire happened at Ocean Acres Cottages and Campground near Murray Harbour that both departments responded to.
It was contained within an hour.
“Not even 10 per cent of it is cleaned up,” Ferguson said in reference to the number of downed trees from Fiona. “It’s pretty dry out. It’s terrible dry. It’s going to be a dry summer, I think.”
Ferguson said the public message is a simple one – don't throw cigarette butts out car windows and don’t burn anything unless the fire index says burning is permitted.