Just how many forest fires are caused by a butt flung from a car?

There are effectively 2 causes blamed:
Lightening
Human caused

Of the human caused, they are unattended camp fires, lawn mower or ATV exhaust sparks, other vehicle exhaust, welding sparks.

In the last 20 years, I can only recall 2 incidents that were definitively determined to be smoke butts. So why now institute this egregious coffer filler now?

It's illegal and stupid. The fine should be tripled during the forest fire season.

I have seen several instances of drivers throwing out smoldering butts in the last few days.

The huge fire in Barrier was caused by a tossed cigarette butt. The saw mill burned down. The one who did it admitted it.

Why act irresponsibly? What are ashtrays for?

Morons.

Litter is litter...lets make it $500

LOKI, You ask how many fires are started from people flicking their live cigarette butts out the window.

I would say many. While driving around our Province last August I seen many places along the highway where fires had started. Most of them get extingished quickly thank goodness. Only because there are many people going by so they are dealt with before they get a chance to grow.

That is the reason you don't hear about them often.
Don't throw them out the window, if even 1 fire is started by a cigarette, it is one too many. Why take the chance.

"Just how many forest fires are caused by a butt flung from a car?"

Loki - I am a member of a local volunteer fire department and I have attended at least three fires that were attributed to cigarettes. All of them had the potential to become full blown forest fires if they had not been spotted and called in. This is the perfect weather conditions for something as small as a butt to do a helluva lot of damage! If you gotta smoke-USE YOUR ASHTRAY!

It has always been stupid to litter with sparks, but it is only illegal because that fantasy land group in the ivory legislature made it so. Laws can be rescinded as easily as they are instituted. I just see it as another way for "them" to reach into my wallet, again.

Thanks for opening that door PrinceGeorge:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/08/04/14915646.html

I don't believe cars come with ashtrays anymore so that could be why people are flicking them out the window. I don't condone what they are doing just stating a fact as to the reason why they might be doing this. I know my last 2 new vehicles did not come with ashtrays. It's probably an option that costs more. I don't smoke so I don't know.

Loki
If you don't want them to dip into your wallet, don't do it.

Is it just me, or are there an awful lot of new fines lately? All of them seem to be aimed at the average person. I have no problem charging people that litter, but the reality is the fines won't cover the cost of the manhours/paperwork required to catch/charge/collect from the offenders. On a sidenote, why don't we fine people that break other laws such as carrying illegal guns etc.?

Well if smokers don't care enough for their own well being, then how do we expect them to care about anyone else's?

Smokers are buying vehicles without ashtrays?

How stupid can they get? Shouldn't that be the first thing which a dedicated smoker should look for?

By the way, there are after market ashtrays for vehicles and they are designed to fit into a cup holder - every new vehicle has a dozen of those or more!

Why are there more fines lately? Because many people disobey even the most basic rules and laws which are in place for their own protection and the well being of society.

There are more fines for the stupid because we aren't allowed to shoot them.
The trouble with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
Today a bike rider came down 5th avenue with no helmet on the wrong side of the road and blew the stoplight. If I had hit him would it be my fault or justified?
Another driver passed me on the Hart, gave me the finger for doing the speed limit, he was doing at least 30 over and got nailed about 2k's up the road. He is probably complaining that the police are picking on citizens instead of the criminals.
And to cap it all off two teens blew the 4 way stop at 10th and Carney as they were talking on their cellphone.
As John Wayne said "Life's tough, its even tougher when you are stupid".

There are more fines for the stupid because we aren't allowed to shoot them.
The trouble with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
Today a bike rider came down 5th avenue with no helmet on the wrong side of the road and blew the stoplight. If I had hit him would it be my fault or justified?
Another driver passed me on the Hart, gave me the finger for doing the speed limit, he was doing at least 30 over and got nailed about 2k's up the road. He is probably complaining that the police are picking on citizens instead of the criminals.
And to cap it all off two teens blew the 4 way stop at 10th and Carney as they were talking on their cellphone.
As John Wayne said "Life's tough, its even tougher when you are stupid".

Good quote Thunder

I bet most of these 'incidents' are nothing more than cherry seeds. A cherry seed looks a lot like a lit cigarette butt from a distance.

I also call a bluff on the RCMP actually investigating a called in plate number. I have witnessed garbage coming out of the back of vehicles on Foothills and phoned in the license plate number and they have blatantly told me there is nothing they can do about it even if I got the license plate number... even though I'm sure they can be further identified by the garbage on the road.

I have also found piles of garbage in green belt areas before (my walking trails) full of paper evidence of the owner and called it in to police to see if they can make the person come and clean it up... and the police have said they don't investigate that kind of stuff its not in their contract with the city.

Furthermore while I'm on a rant here. If I was in charge I would get rid of who ever it is in charge of PG's garbage policy. The landfill is always closed on the long weekends when people do yard work, and they never put up a sign to say what the new hours will be... and if you make one of the other sites during its 'open' hours... to have to pay to dump garbage is ludicrious. I pay enough city taxes I would like to see the dumping of garbage made as accessable as possible and the restrictions do nothing but create more littering problems IMO.

OK my rant is finished....

You are not allowed to throw ANYTHING out of a vehicle on the road! Cherry pits? My cherry pits don't have sparks coming off them and they don't give off any smoke.

Littering is littering. It's worse if the litter has the potential to start a fire!

OK that's the end of my rant...

You are not allowed to throw ANYTHING out of a vehicle on the road! Cherry pits? My cherry pits don't have sparks coming off them and they don't give off any smoke.

Littering is littering. It's worse if the litter has the potential to start a fire!

OK that's the end of my rant...

There are more fines for the stupid because we aren't allowed to shoot them.


OK Hitler. You be the judge. I smoked for 35 years and during those years I used the window for an ashtray. I'm not exceptionally proud of that but I had enough sense to be sure it would not start a fire when I tossed it. When there was a risk, I used the ashtray.
There really is no proof of the cig starting the fire in Barrier except for the whacko who said he did. There is no way to prove that. Who will we fine for lightening strikes? Too many stupid laws--to many stupid politicians. I'm going to get a T shirt potraying "I see stupid people".
By the way: cars still come with ashtrays. Not all countries are as anal as the western world.

I had a passenger who tried to throw his butt out the window, however it got stuck. I suggested that he lose weight before he tries it again.

It seems we spend a hell of a lot of time discussing how fires get started, who starts them, etc; etc; etc. Fact is we have had forest fires ever since I can remember.

It the same old BS every time. However at the end of the fire season we go on to something else, until the next time.

I find it rather strange that we bitch and bellache about the fires, the loss of timber, etc; however I havent heard on word about wildlife.

Here we are with hundreds of fires burning all over the Province, with airplanes dumping retardant every where, Politicians running off at the mounth (whats new) thousands of hectares going up in smoke, and not one word about wildlife.

Whats with that?????

Are the wildlife smoking? They might get fined if they don't start moving!!

I smoked for 33 years before I quit two year ago.
I figured if I was stupid enough to smoke, I didn't want to be responsible for setting a fire by flicking my smouldering cigarette butt out my car window.
Even though it looked gross, I always had a pop can or bottle with a bit of water in it to discard my butts when I was driving...anywhere...including in town.
Be responsible. As a smoker you are not being responsible to your own well being. Don't jeopardize others with your second hand smoke and your carelessness that might lead to causing a forest fire.

I get a kick out of the people defending the disgusting habit of smoking and the butts don't start fires. Now lets see a fire has started from the side of a road in the middle of no where, now how did it start? Think about it just a little.

Put ash trays back in new vehicles that may deter the odd bonehead who flick their ashes and butts out onto the road. See it all the time, you blast the horn at them and they give you the bird or start swearing at you. Seen a woman up at the Hart Home Hardware take her last cigarette out of the package and chuck the empty package under her van, honked the horn and got the finger.

Loki, two of the biggest fires in the Kamloops area 2003 were caused by cigarette butts, the one that started the Barreire fire was a resident of the Louis Creek area who thought he extinguished his butt by stepping on it and grinding it into the grass. The secound, the Strawberry fire was started by somone who decided to empty their ashtray at the side of the road.

there is no natural selection anymore sorry no more survival of the fittist or the smartist...we have all these rules and regulations so the Stupid dont kill themselves or the rest of us
lol