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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Grass fire nets farmer $19,000 in fine, repayment
A Manitoba farmer is going to pay a heavy price for setting a small grass fire which grew to become massively out-of-control and put numerous homes, businesses and motorists at risk.
Jack Vanderploeg, 73, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge under the provincial wildfires act. He was given a $3,000 fine and ordered to repay more than $16,000 that it cost officials to fight the October 2011 blaze near Teulon.
Vanderploeg says he was just trying to burn some grass and weeds from a garden he had dug out when he set the fire and believed it was contained to a small area. But he left the farm in the RM of Armstrong to his regular home in East St. Paul, only to receive a frantic call from a rural neighbour several days later stating the smoldering pile he left behind had rapidly spread due to high winds and dry conditions.
RCMP and fire crews rushed to the scene and were forced to close a portion of a major highway in the area because of thick, black smoke, court was told. There were also concerns about nearby homes and buildings, along with livestock. Fortunately the fire was doused before any major damage could occur.
"He did everything he could to help the efforts to fight the grass fire," Crown attorney Sean Brennan told court. "But there was a huge amount of community resources used up for this."
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