Mervyn Perry recalls turning off the TV and going to bed one night in May 2023 with no idea that a tire was being lit on fire on his land in Barrington, N.S., and that the flame would grow to be part of the largest wildfire in the province’s history.
Court documents from last month’s sentencing of Dalton Stewart, who was charged under the Forests Act, revealed it was Perry’s land near Barrington Lake where he set the tire on fire.
It wasn’t until the 86-year-old saw smoke in the days following and heard social media chatter that he realized the fire was set on his property, which spans more than 100 hectares.
“You’re on someone else’s property to begin with. Go on your own property. Buy a piece of property and destroy your own,” Perry said, noting the fire was started several kilometres away from his house so there was no way for him to see what was going on.
Stewart was sentenced to a $25,000 fine on Oct. 16 after pleading guilty to a charge under the Forests Act.
An agreed statement of facts revealed more details about what happened the night of May 25, 2023, when Stewart was in the area drinking with several friends.
The document describes how Stewart used cardboard and motor oil as an accelerant to start the fire at the top of the hill near a local landmark known as Homer’s Rock.
Before leaving, it says Stewart stomped on the flames but did not use water or check that embers were cool to the touch.
“They should know better, that’s all I can say,” Perry said.
The document also notes that people living down the street from Perry saw two trucks leave an adjacent road, followed by smoke the day after and then a small but growing fire near Homer’s Rock.
Stewart’s lawyer said the tire fire was part of the Barrington wildfire, but there may also have been other fires set that contributed.
‘Most of it is just destroyed now’
The wildfire went on to burn more than 23,000 hectares, destroying dozens of structures and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes.
Perry’s home and cottage on the lake were saved but he recalls having to leave the area for about a week.
While his properties were not damaged, he said a lot of the trees on his land were burned.
“We bought this land more or less for our kids,” Perry said. “There’s a lot of beautiful places along this river here but most of it is just destroyed now.”
He acknowledges that was not the intent and things got out of control quickly with strong winds and dry conditions a factor, but he thinks the penalty could have been more severe considering the damage.
He also points out others were with Stewart at the time of the fire and did not have permission to be on his property.
At the hearing last month, the Crown said no sentence could undo the consequences but described the $25,000 fine as significant as well as proportionate and fair.
No charges were laid against any other people, the Crown said.
The wardens of Barrington and Shelburne previously issued a statement acknowledging the sentencing could bring back painful memories to those affected, but the resilience of residents, volunteers and first responders “define who we are as communities.”
Kevin Doane, a volunteer firefighter from the area, said people are still hurting.
He’s a lobster fisherman and suffered losses after thousands of dollars worth of his gear burned.
He said while the intentions were not to cause the kind of devastation that followed, the fine seems light given the circumstances. But he said he finds it difficult to say what would be a fair sentence after so many people lost so much.
“It’s kind of a slap in the face to the volunteer firefighters and everybody that lost everything because it’s still quite emotional for people,” Doane said.
Seeing the still-charred forest makes it difficult to move on, he said, even though that’s what people are trying to do.
“We have to see it every day and most people here are not going to see it back to the way it was because they’re just not going to live that long,” he said.
Perry said his only option is to move on and while he might not see his land grow back to what it used to be, he’s hoping his children will get to enjoy it in the future.
“It shouldn’t have happened but it did and it’s gone and now you’ve got to live with it and they’ve got to live with it.”
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