Cranbrook RCMP issued a fine under the Wildfire Act Tuesday to a man who tossed a lit cigarette out of his moving vehicle.

Police responded to a complaint of a man driving on 14th Avenue in Cranbrook, who apparently tossed a cigarette out of the window of his moving vehicle into dry grass. Witnesses were able to provide a license plate number for an out of province Cadillac.

The Cranbrook officer was able to locate the vehicle and issued the driver with a ticket under the Wildfire Act for “Drop Release or Mishandle Burning Substance” which carries a fine of $575.

“Cranbrook RCMP would like to stress to the motoring public that with the dry conditions in and around Cranbrook, it might only take that one cigarette being tossed out a window to cause a devastating and life altering wildfire in our area,” police said in a release issued Tuesday afternoon.