The City of Port Coquitlam is burning smokers with increased fines this summer if they’re caught taking a drag in parks or littering their cigarette butts, amid dry weather that poses an increased fire hazard.
The fees jumped from $250 to $500 on June 1 and will stay that way until Sept. 30, the municipality announced on Thursday. All forms of open-air burning also fall into the category of prohibited activities under the Port Coquitlam bylaw.
The rules apply to smokers of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes, and all other equipment used to smoke or burn tobacco, cannabis and other plant material. Users are asked to safely dispose of their butts or stop vaping when entering a park or part of the city where smoking is prohibited.
“I have to say, it’s really disappointing on a number of fronts that this even requires a bylaw because really, it should just require a brain,” Mayor Brad West told 980 CKNW’s The Jill Bennett Show.
“Unfortunately there have been a number of instances where we’ve had fires begin because people have thrown out a cigarette butt.”
The municipality said bylaw enforcement officers and firefighters will be “stepping up patrols” at various parks and trails that are at particular risk of fire. Warnings may be issued first, it added.
“We want to use everything we can to try and reduce the risk of fire. Our city is blessed with unrivalled access to the outdoors … but it comes with a responsibility to keep the area safe as well,” said West.
“This is not just a bylaw that exists on paper, it is a bylaw that will be enforced.”
Smoking is a leading cause of wildfires in B.C. More than 60 active wildfires were burning across the province as of Thursday afternoon.
The fires have already burned more hectares of land than 16 of B.C.’s last 20 seasons and while the number of wildfires “of note” has dropped from five to two, provincial officials have warned the danger is far from over.