WATCH: Fire erupts after cigarette tossed in North Vancouver backyard

North Vancouver firefighters have released a startling video of a massive fire erupting from a cigarette discarded in a local backyard, more than six hours after it was left there.

The security footage from July 3 was released as a warning to the public to be cautious with materials that could spark or fuel a fire, as B.C. experiences a drought and its worst wildfire season on record.

1:14 Fire sparked by cigarette in North Vancouver backyard a tale of caution

“This had the potential to progress into a significant event, particularly with the large amount of ember cast and the heat that’s being generated by that fire,” District of North Vancouver fire Chief Brian Hutchinson said in a Thursday tweet.

“It is extremely obvious that a discarded cigarette can have significant impacts to our built environment, to our residential areas.”

In the video, two people can be seen working in the backyard. Around 8:30 p.m., one of them puts out a cigarette butt — insufficiently — beneath the hedge around the backyard.

That butt smouldered for hours and around 3:40 a.m., a flame is sparked. In less than four minutes, the fire completely consumes the closest part of the hedge and the owners can be seen rushing out to hose it down while awaiting first responders.

“One of the things that noticeable about this is not only the significant fire progression but the amount of ember cast that’s coming from that fire,” Hutchinson said.

“Those embers can easily push up against a structure or into other shrubs and vegetation and cause more fires.”

0:24 Increased smoking fines in Port Coquitlam

British Columbia has already set a record this season for the greatest hectares of land burned from wildfire, with 1,498 fires scorching over 1.4 million hectares — an area about the size of the Bahamas.

While many of the majority of them are suspected to be caused by lightning, 21 were human-caused, including the Cameron Bluffs fire near Port Alberni that has repeatedly closed off Highway 4.

Last month, the City of Port Coquitlam doubled the fines for violations of its bylaws around smoking and discarded cigarettes in an effort to prevent fires in parks and other prohibited parts of the city.