A young Nova Scotia man was charged Wednesday with starting the worst forest fire in the province's history.
The Barrington Lake wildfire on the western tip of the province, discovered on May 26, took advantage of favorable conditions to spread at full speed into the Shelburne County region.
Ultimately, the flames ravaged nearly 23,400 acres and took firefighters two and a half weeks to bring them under control. The fire was finally considered extinguished on July 26, two months after it started, the province's Ministry of Natural and Renewable Resources reminded on Thursday.
During this time, the fire forced the evacuation of around 6,000 people and destroyed more than sixty houses and chalets.
After the investigation, authorities concluded that they had collected enough evidence to formally charge a 22-year-old man, Dalton Clark Stewart, with starting a fire on private property without the owner's permission, leaving the fire unattended and destroying it had failed to take adequate measures to try to prevent the flames from spreading.
The man could face a $50,000 fine and/or six months in prison.