A 20-year-old man has been fined $150,000 and charged with arson with disregard of human life following a string of brush fires in downtown St. John’s on Tuesday night.
The man will appear in court on Thursday.
Police and firefighters responded to at least four fires in the span of a few blocks on Lemarchant Road and New Gower Street between 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. NT.
There were no injuries reported or damage to buildings.
“The investigation is ongoing in consultation with resource enforcement officers of the Department of Fisheries, Forestry, and Agriculture,” reads a media release from the RNC.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday morning, Premier John Hogan said the man was slapped with three $50,000 fines.
“It just continues to be unbelievable,” Hogan said. “Just shocked and surprised that someone would do something like that on any day, but given the situation we’re in right now … to intentionally set a fire that needed assets … is just kind of unthinkable and I can’t really get my head around why somebody would want to do that.”
The fires were set as the province struggled with several out-of-control wildfires, including one at Paddy’s Pond on the outskirts of St. John’s.
The man could have faced even tougher punishment, as the province recently jacked up the penalties for starting fires during the provincewide fire ban to a range of $50,000 to $150,000.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, St. John’s Regional Fire Department Chief Sherry Colford said crews were able to respond quickly, but she said it’s worrying to see people intentionally starting fires.
St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen said the person responsible for the fires created a unnecessarily dangerous situation.
“Knock it off,” Breen said. “There’s no need for this right now.”
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