A B.C. Supreme Court Justice has ordered a new hearing for a man facing a penalty of more than $100,000 for allegedly letting a burn pile get out of control.
Whalen then left the site but over the following eight days, he returned several times, and made further checks on the fire, "at all times believing it was extinguished." The B.C. Wildfire Service was called in and ground crews, helicopters, air tankers and fire retardant was deployed. It was deemed under control six days later and about a month after that declared extinguished.
As well, Tammen found the commission failed to consider evidence relevant to Whalen's position. Specifically, the judge questioned the commission's claim that Whalen failed to physically inspect and pull apart the burn pile to see if it was extinguished.