An Ottawa resident has pleaded responsible to failing to maintain a fireplace below management after a wildfire consumed nearly 45 hectares of land on Centennial Lake in Renfrew County.
A forest fireplace began on a privately owned island west of Calabogie, Ont. on June 4, 2023, in a restricted fireplace zone, and the hearth jumped to the mainland.
Ontario’s Ministry of Pure Sources and Forestry says the hearth consumed nearly 45 hectares of forest space and close by residents had been evacuated as a security precaution. An evacuation order was in place for 5 days.
“A forensic investigation decided the hearth was human prompted,” the ministry stated.
“Conservation officers decided (the suspect) prompted the hearth. The investigation was supported by eye-witness accounts from residents, cottage homeowners and the Larger Madawaska Hearth Division.”
In June 2023, the Ministry of Pure Sources and Forestry stated it was trying to determine the person or people accountable for beginning the hearth.
The resident was ordered to pay Ontario $35,000 as partial compensation for the prices incurred to extinguish the hearth.
