Careless smokers are causing problems in Osoyoos where there have been two bush fires in populated areas within the past four days.
Thursday night shrubs were ignited along pioneer walkway across from the Holiday Inn hotel.
“This could have candled to the trees around it, they could have fallen, embers could have blown over,” said Assistant General Manager Linda Griffiths. “There is a hotel with 350 people in it right there and this could have been a dangerous situation all because of one cigarette.”
It comes just days after a tree in front of the Tumbleweed distillery on Lakeshore Drive.
“It was terrifying for us being a new business, we just opened May long weekend, and we’ve put our life savings into this business and to think that some careless act could just sweep it all away in a fraction of time was really very upsetting for us,” said owner Andrea Zaradic on Friday.
The big problem is being championed by a little advocate.
8-year-old Talon Lowton is handing out bottles partially filled with water along with a handwritten note to encourage smokers to extinguish their cigarettes in the bottle rather than tossing it out the window.
“Because if they do, then it will cause a forest fire and then lots of people lose their homes like what’s happened now,” he said.
Lowton said he was frustrated by the news of so many human-caused fires when the idea dawned on him.
“Just thinking about how fires start, because nature doesn’t just throw a spark out, the dry stuff doesn’t just catch on fire, it has to happen by something, and lots of the time it happens by people just throwing their smokes out the window,” the eight-year-old said.
Lowton and other Osoyoos residents are pleading with careless smokers to think twice before discarding a smoldering cigarette butt.
“Please don’t throw your cigarettes you know people’s lives are at stake,” said Zaradic.
The Osoyoos RCMP detachment said they receive one to two calls per week from concerned citizens about careless smokers.
Sgt. Jason Bayda said those responsible could be fined if they are caught in the act.
WATCH: Discarded cigarette blamed for West End fire
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