Abandoned fire sparks fury

Photo: Facebook/Peachland Neighbours

UPDATE: 10:30 a.m. 

A Peachland man was shocked to find an abandoned campfire and had to scratch the ground with sticks to get soil to put on the flames. 

Thomas says he was worried he wouldn’t be able to extinguish the fire.

“It was a very bad feeling even after multiple hours, whether we could succeed or not to put (out) the fire,” he says. 

He took a photograph of the campfire and shared it to a Facebook group, sparking anger among residents.

“I don’t mean to blame anyone,” he said.

Margo Shaw, who lives in Peachland, says the photograph frightened her. She's concerned because summer hasn’t even started.

BC Wildfire Service says if a violation causes a wildfire, the person responsible may also be ordered to pay all the firefighting costs as well as a fine.

A person can be fined $1,150 dollars for an unattended campfire.

ORIGINAL: 5 a.m.

A photograph posted on social media is causing outrage among Peachland residents.

An individual posted a photograph to Facebook Sunday afternoon, showing an alleged abandoned campfire.

“A warm, cozy and abandoned campfire,” said the photographer. “And we are surprised (at) the number of wildfires.”

Since the photo was posted in the Peachland Neighbours group, many people have expressed concern about the dangerous behaviour.

“It’s frightening because the last two summers we’ve been on evacuation alert,” says Margot Shaw. “It’s bad enough, but when someone is this blatantly stupid, it is really frustrating.”

It appears the campfire was up Princeton Avenue.

“This is unacceptable, most of us up here are nervous anyways,” said Shaw.

As residents keep their fingers crossed they won’t be on evacuation alert this summer, they are stressing the importance of extinguishing all fires before leaving them.