CN Rail fined $435,000 for wildfire near Spences Bridge

CN Rail has been fined $435,000, having been found responsible for causing a wildfire near Spences Bridge a year after the nearby town of Lytton was devastated by a catastrophic wildfire.

According to a June 17 BC Forest Appeals Commission decision, CN Rail was found to have caused a wildfire that burned outside of Spencers Bridge in September 2022.

Last year, the BC government issued a $435,371 fine to the company.

Broken down, the fine covered $60,000 for damaged or destroyed mature Crown timber, $27,000 for damaging or destroying forest and grassland resources, and a further $348,000 to cover the cost of controlling wildfire K72249.

“During their investigations, Natural Resource Officer Service staff collected field information and photographs and obtained recorded statements from several eyewitnesses. As a result of their investigation, the Natural Resource Officer Service alleged that CN Rail had contravened… BC Wildfire Regulation(s),” the decision reads.

The province found that railway operations were the most probable cause of the wildfire.

At the time, BC Wildfire Service said the Lower Arthur Seat wildfire was burning roughly 20 kilometres northeast of Lytton.

The decision didn’t give any details about how long the fire burned for, but it appears it was being held within a couple of days.

CN Rail has since appealed the fine, based on legal technicalities of the appeal process.

While some aspects of CN Rail’s appeal were rejected by the Forest Appeals Commission, the decision said the appeal can move forward.