Fires Being Set And Garbage Left Behind At Pollett River

Concerns are being raised by the Elgin Fire Department about some of the individuals choosing to cool off by the Pollett River.

Fire Chief Kent Steeves says conditions are very dry right now, and bonfires are not a good choice, “Whether it be a small fire or a large fire, it is not acceptable and we ask that they stop.  Also, stop leaving their garbage behind. By the time they are done enjoying their day at the river, they have a tendency of leaving bags of garbage or debris laying around, then someone from our community has to go and pick it all up.”

Steeves says if anyone sees a fire right now, especially during the fire ban, they should call 9-1-1, ” We’ll respond and put it out, but if we find out who is doing it, we will pass along their information to Public safety, and let them deal with them, whether it be fines or whatever. There is a zero tolerance on fires right now.”

He adds, people don’t realize how quickly those fires can spread, “There’s a large fire in Quebec, which is about the size of Toronto that started as a campfire, and those things can spread so quickly. Even right now with a small fire, it can bury down in to the root. They think they have it out, when they put a bit of water on it, but they can stay lit for quite some time.”

He adds, the river is a beautiful place to visit, and they are just asking people to respect that.

“For some reason, they think that when they change diapers on their kids, they can just leave them behind,” Steeves says. “Even just last night, I spoke to a couple of families who had left two bags. They were in garbage bags but they were going to leave them there for someone else to discard. You brought them in, you should have room to take it back out.”

The other concern is those travelling in and out of the community, “Some are driving at a high rate of speed, sometimes passing when they shouldn’t be. When they come to the river, they are parking where they are not supposed to be parking, and not leaving enough room for emergency vehicles to get by. RCMP have been helping us with removing cars, but they can only do some much with the manpower they have.”

They ask that people respect their little part of heaven and leave the area as it was when they arrived.