Joshua Webb was charged $50 for starting a fire on an island across from Disaster Point on June 10 during the August 13 Jasper Provincial Court.

Webb pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined much less than was requested by crown attorney Bob Marr. Judge Don Norheim said Webb had taken reasonable precautions despite lighting the fire illegally.

“Ordinary rules don’t apply here in Jasper,” Judge Norheim said.

Webb’s lawyer Richard Ireland argued that although the accused acknowledged that sparks could have jumped from the island to the mainland, he had also brought firewood to the island and had picked an island with no vegetation on it, so as to minimize the risk of a wildfire.

“Notwithstanding the fact you broke the rules, but you were obviously prudent in doing so,” said Judge Norheim in sentencing the man.

Webb was first spotted on the island on the evening of June 10 when Parks Canada Wardens asked him to put the fire out.

When the wardens returned to the site in the morning, about 9 a.m., the fire was still burning. This is when Webb was asked to clean up the site and come back to land.