GNWT, RCMP investigating Fort Good Hope wildfire

The NWT’s wildfire agency says it is actively investigating the wildfire that forced Fort Good Hope to evacuate earlier this summer.

NWT Fire has said they believe the wildfire was started by an abandoned campfire that grew out of control due to strong winds.

“That investigation does remain open,” wildfire information officer Mike Westwick recently told Cabin Radio, adding the territory investigates every fire that is suspected to be person caused.

“If people have information about the potential for any fires which may have been caused by people or contravention of fire bans in place, we always do encourage them to give their regional office a call to speak with an officer.”

The NWT RCMP said it is also investigating the Fort Good Hope wildfire.

The fire reached the edge of the community in mid-June, forcing residents to evacuate, while firefighting reinforcements were called in from the Yukon.

The fire burned more than 8,200 hectares by the time firefighters got it under control and residents were allowed to begin returning home on July 6. Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from destroying any homes or infrastructure in Fort Good Hope.

NWT helicopter pilot Tom Frith, who was assisting with wildfire management operations, lost his life in a crash attributed to a parts failure near the community’s airport.

Abandoned campfires a leading wildfire cause

Several other wildfires reported across the NWT this summer have also been linked to abandoned campfires.

In early May, NWT Fire said it had received several reports of campfires being left unattended, particularly at Yellowknife River Territorial Park. In June, it said eight of nine wildfires reported in the North Slave region had been caused by people.

Westwick said earlier this week 24 of 145 wildfires this year so far are suspected to have been caused by people, or more than 16 percent. He said every season between 10 to 25 percent of wildfires in the NWT are human caused.

Of the suspected human-caused fires this year, Westwick said most started as abandoned campfires, followed by burn piles that were left unattended or escaped, with bear bangers and ATVs tying for the third leading cause.

Penalties for causing wildfires

The NWT’s Forest Protection Act, which was updated in 2023, requires people to not leave fires they have started unattended until they are totally extinguished.

Penalties for violating the act include fines ranging from $25 to $1,000, jail time between 30 days to two years or both, depending on the offence and the decision of a judge.

The legislation also allows the territory to recover firefighting costs for wildfires started by an offence under the act.

Westwick said a strong case is needed in order to charge people under the act, which can be difficult.

“One of the things that you need to do is not just identify the potential cause but you need to investigate it in order to connect fires back to individuals or organizations,” he said, adding all NWT wildfire crew leaders are trained in scene preservation.

“You’re also dealing with areas that are way out in the bush, sometimes accessing sites can be a bit of a challenge. But certainly we have folks with the expertise to get it done.”

Beyond enforcement, Westwick said there needs to be a focus on appealing to peoples’ care for their communities to prevent human-caused wildfires.

“We really want to encourage people to use their voices in order to encourage good behaviours out there because people listen to their friends and their families a lot closer than they listen to the government,” he said.

“Every single person out there can make a real difference in our management of wildfires by taking some simple steps like that in their personal lives to influence people to make good decisions when they’re using fire out on the land.”

‘A fairly aggressive’ regime

Across the country, the penalties people can face for causing wildfires and other violations of legislation related to wildfires vary.

Ryan Morasiewicz, an outdoor adventure and insurance defence lawyer based in British Columbia, said the province has “a fairly aggressive” regime when it comes to penalizing those responsible for wildfires.

The province’s Wildfire Act and regulations include fines up to $100,000, potential imprisonment or both, and allows the BC government to recover firefighting costs from people and companies responsible for negligently starting wildfires. The province can also recover the costs of timber and other resources destroyed by fire as well as the cost to re-plant trees.

“As you can imagine, those three things combined can get excessively, incredibly expensive very fast if it’s a large wildfire,” he said.

Morasiewicz said the province tends to go after corporations and companies rather than individuals as they often have deeper pockets or a leaseholder interest in the land where the fire burned. But there have been recent cases where residents have been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Elsewhere in Canada

People responsible for starting wildfires in Saskatchewan may also be liable for firefighting costs, the value of lost timber and the cost to reforest land. People who violate the province’s Wildfire Act can additionally face fines up to $500,000 per day, up to three years imprisonment or both, while corporations can be fined up to $1 million per day.

In Ontario, individuals who start a fire in a restricted fire zone can face a fine up to $25,000, three months in jail or both, as well as financial responsibility for firefighting costs. Corporations can be fined up to $500,000.

The province has also gone through civil court to try and recoup costs from companies it has said were responsible for starting fires in some cases. In 2015, the provincial government filed lawsuits against CN Rail claiming more than $38 million in damages alleging four fires in 2012 were started by passing trains. CN has denied the claims.

Yukon‘s Forest Protection Act allows the territory to recover firefighting costs for wildfires started by an offence under the act. Violations also carry a fine up to $1,000, jail up to two years or both.

In Alberta, violations of the Forest and Prairie Protection Act carry fines up to $50,000, one year in jail or both for individuals, and up to a $500,000 fine for corporations. People who knowingly contravene the act an be fined up to $100,000, jailed for up to two years or both, while industrial users can be fined up to $1 million.

People who commit an offence under Manitoba‘s Wildfire Act can face fines up to $100,000 per day, imprisonment up to two years or both, while corporations can be fined $1 million per day.

Violating Nova Scotia‘s Forests Act can result in a fine up to $50,000, six months in jail or both for individuals, and a fine up to $100,000 for corporations. The province increased its fine for violating daily burn restrictions to $25,000 earlier this year.

People who violate PEI‘s Forest Fire Protection Act can face fines between $5,000 and $50,000, up to six months in jail or both. Corporations can be fined between $10,000 and $100,000.

In New Brunswick judges can impost fines up to $20,500 for violations under the Forest Fire Act.

The maximum penalties for violating Nunavut’s Forest Management Act are a fine up to $1,000, up to one year in jail or both.

In Newfoundland and Labrador contraventions of Forest Fire Regulations range from $75 or three days jail time in default of payment to a $1,000 fine or three months in jail.