Hikers rescued, fined for lighting campfire in Tweedsmuir South

Two hikers who ignored BC Park closures had to be rescued and were also ticketed for making a campfire, RCMP said.

The action was taken Tuesday afternoon when Anahim Lake RCMP were notified that a Satellite Positioning and Tracking (SPOT) distress signal had been activated in Tweedsmuir Park South at Tanya Lakes near the Alexander Mackenzie Grease Trail.

With the help of a helicopter, the two were located and extracted about 2 1/2 hours later.

A campfire the hikers had made the previous evening also had to be extinguished and B.C. Parks staff issued two fines totaling $1,233 for accessing the park while being closed and lighting a fire during a fire ban.

They could have been liable for much more had the campfire sparked a new wildfire. Under the Parks Act, they could have faced fines of up to $1 million, said BC Parks area supervisor Steven Hodgson.

Exactly why the signal was activated was not stated but RCMP said they were in an area closed due to the extreme wildfire hazard. A wildfire in the area has prompted an evacuation order for several homesteads along its eastern border.

"We urge the public to respect all bans and restrictions," B.C. RCMP Staff Sgt. Annie Linteau said. "It is unfortunate that these hiker's blatant disregard of park closures, resulted in the diversion of valuable resources and assets which would have otherwise been used in fire suppression efforts".