Skip to content

Zero tolerance for open fires and lit cigarettes thrown out car windows

Creston RCMP have been vigilant in going after open fire burners and drivers tossing out cigarettes.
7760013_web1_170622-CVA-RCMP

BY LORNE ECKERSLEY

Advance staff

With hot temperatures leading to dangerous fire conditions, Creston RCMP have been vigilant in going after open fire burners and drivers tossing out cigarette butts.

“We have issued three tickets each to people who had open fires and drivers who threw lit cigarettes from their vehicles,” Sgt. Dave Nassichuk said on Tuesday morning.

The fines, he said, are $1,150 for the fires and $575 for the cigarette infractions.

“Please let people know we have zero tolerance in these hot weather conditions,” he said.

In other police news, Cpl. Darren Kakono said Creston RCMP responded to 114 calls for service from July 11-17, the busiest week of the year, by far.

July 11

• The first fire infraction since the campfire ban was instituted last week resulted in a ticket for a person who lit a bonfire near Goat River Bridge on Highway 21. Call it a very expensive hot dog.

• A suspect is being sought after a reported assault on 16th Avenue South.

• A Yahk resident reported the theft of items in storage sometime since 2016.

• No injuries resulted in a single vehicle crash on Cold Creek forest service road.

• A second ticket was issued for an open fire, this time on Lower Wynndel Road. Creston Fire Department extinguished the fire.

• A collision with a bucket truck on 33rd Street at Highway 3 knocked the camper off a half-ton truck and caused major damage. The bucket driver was charged with failing to yield at a stop sign.

• Police are investigating an assault complaint arising from a landlord-tenant dispute in Yahk.

• A driver admitted to throwing a lit cigarette butt from his window on Highway 3 after police responded to a complaint. He was ticketed.

• Two people involved in a social media harassment issue were spoken to by police.

• A complaint about a possible campfire on East Arrow Creek Road turned out to be a propane stove fire, which is not banned.

July 12

• A loud explosion was reported on 16th Avenue South in the early morning hours. It turned out to be an electrical transformer blowing, which led to a power outage of more than an hour in much of the downtown area.

• A fire near 25th Avenue South in Erickson was extinguished by firefighters.

• Police were called to an on-going neighbours’ dispute in Kitchener.

• A reported possibly impaired driver of a westbound vehicle was referred to Salmo RCMP to watch for.

• Minor injuries resulted in a two-vehicle crash on Airport Road at Mallory Road.

• No injuries resulted to occupants when a vehicle collided with a deer in Yahk.

• Police did not locate a vehicle that nearly hit another vehicle after it ran a red light on Canyon Street.

• Police were called about a landlord-tenant dispute on 16th Avenue South.

• A female shoplifter in her 30s fled a Canyon Street business and drove off in a white Ford F150 pickup.

July 13

• Police spoke to a person causing a disturbance at the hospital and there were no further problems.

• Police and ambulance personnel were notified about a person with a leg injury on Christopher Creek forest service road.

• A third party report about a flagger being struck by a vehicle on Highway 3 is being investigated.

• A minor collision on Erickson Road at 16th Avenue South led to a verbal dispute between the drivers.

• A report of an erratic driver boarding a Kootenay Lake ferry was referred to Kaslo RCMP.

• An altercation between two males in the 3700 block of Highway 3 is being investigated.

• Police are also investigating threats involving two males.

• Creston police helped Elk Valley RCMP by determining that a reported overdue traveller was okay.

July 14

• A semi overheated on Highway 3 near Kitchener but no fire resulted.

• A dog was injured when it was hit by a vehicle on Highway 21.

• Police spoke to people involved in a verbal dispute on 16th Avenue.

• A complaint about a vehicle passing on a double solid line on Highway 3A is under investigation.

• A vehicle collided with a deer on Canyon-Lister Road.

• A male was arrested after threats and an assault on Wenger Road.

July 15

• Occupants of a vehicle that crashed on Highway 3A in Crawford Bay were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

• A wallet found on Canyon Street was returned to the owner.

• An unwanted guest on 24th Street in Lister left without further incident.

• Occupants of a vehicle that missed a corner on Highway 3A near Sirdar and went off the road were taken to hospital as a precaution.

• Police could not confirm a report of possible fireworks in Riondel.

• Mischief to a vehicle’s wheels was reported in the 1200 block of Northwest Boulevard.

• Impaired charges are pending for a pickup driver who collided with a tractor and fled the scene in the 4200 block of Highway 3.

• A female who left a backpack near Highway 3 in Crawford Bay to go into a business across the road returned to find it stolen.

• A male in the 1400 block of Canyon Street was arrested for causing a disturbance and given a ticket for possession of liquor in a public place.

July 17

• A large youth party with a bonfire on Foster Road was reported after the fact.

• A watch was found on Goat River Bridge on Highway 21.

• A reported possibly open fire on 4th Avenue North turned out to be a lit woodstove inside the house.

• Police did not locate a motorcycle that reportedly crashed on Highway 3A near Kootenay Bay.

• A driving complaint from Highway 3 near Wright Road led to a driver being issued a ticket for driving without due consideration.

• A female has been banned from a Cook Street store after causing a disturbance.

• When police located a vehicle whose driver reportedly tossed a cigarette out the window on Highway 3/95, an officer witnessed him doing the same thing again. He got a $575 ticket.

• A vehicle stopped in Crawford Bay had a 15-pound bag of marijuana. The investigation continues.

• Youths on Sea-Doos on a trailer towed by a truck were reported on Highway 3 in Boswell. Police did not locate them.