Police hand out two $25,000 tickets after fires in CBRM

Cape Breton Regional Police charged two people on Friday.

They were burning fires, which is in violation of the current province-wide ban on burning.

Officers first responded to a complaint from a citizen who observed a fire in a yard on Hillside Street in Sydney at 11:30 a.m., where Cape Breton Regional Fire Services was also on the scene extinguishing a fire.

After obtaining information from the scene, police issued a 57-year-old man a summary offence ticket under the Forests Act for igniting a fire within 1,000 feet of woods.

That carries a fine of $25,000.

Police say at approximately 1:45 p.m., officers responded to reports of a garbage fire on Grants Lane in Sydney.

Cape Breton Regional Fire Services was on scene and extinguished the fire.

After officers obtained information from the scene, police issued 43-year-old man a summary offence ticket for $25,000.

Under the extremely high risk of wildfire in Nova Scotia, police, fire and emergency management officials urge the public to follow the province’s restrictions on burning and entering wooded areas, which are in place to prevent any further fires from starting.