Charges laid in Barrington Lake wildfire

A 22-year old man has been charged after an investigation into the Barrington Lake wildfire.

Dalton Clark Stewart of Villagedale, Shelburne County is facing 3 charges in May’s wildfire, which burned over 23,000 hectares, and was the largest in the province’s history.

He’s charged under the Forests Act with lighting a fire on privately owned land without permission, failing to take reasonable efforts to prevent the spread of a fire, and leaving a fire unattended.

He’ll appear in court on March 7th in Shelburne.

The fire also destroyed or damaged dozens of structures in Shelburne County.

The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables says people convicted under the Forest Act can face fines up to 50-thousand dollars and 6 months in prison.

Conservation service director Orlando Fraser says he can’t speculate on what the penalty could be.

“That is up to the courts to decide, but the courts would take the Forests Act into consideration,” says Fraser.

He says they investigated and conducted interviews, and that led them to the individual being charged on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the department says the investigation into the Tantallon wildfire is still ongoing.