Attempted romantic gesture with fire on a beach

A bungled romantic gesture which saw a man light a heart-shaped line of fire on what is believed to be Chesterman Beach has outraged Tofino residents, who are wary of danger during peak fire season.

A video distributed on social media sites shows a couple embracing while standing in the midst of a heart-shaped line of flames in the sand at dusk.

In the video, the man sets the design alight. Black smoke quickly rises, partially obscuring the couple from view. The man starts to kick sand to extinguish it.

A man’s voice can be heard saying, “It’s a black [expletive] smoke cloud. I have to kick it out.”

Printed words imposed on the video state: “He said he wanted to do something cute to show how much he loves me then did this.”

Online comments said that paper towels and gasoline were used to fuel the fire.

The woman who originally posted the video to social media has since added privacy settings, said people who saw the initial comments.

The video dated July 30 said she was “island-bound with my fave human.” She also said: “Love where I get to call home,” and #westcoastbestcoast.

Another woman posting on a Tofino social media site said she came across the scene on Chesterman Beach.

People viewing the video clearly did not approve of a beach fire during a fire ban, calling it “disgusting.”

Residents on 麻豆传媒映画Island’s west coast are well aware of the damage fire can cause. A wildfire, believed to have been human caused, and the subsequent damage, cut off highway access to the east side of the Island for residents of Port Alberni, Tofino, Ucluelet and First Nations this summer.

Anyone driving in and out of the west side of the island either took a detour along a rugged gravel road or relied on aircraft. Local tourism and other businesses were hard hit as visitors avoided the area.

Repairs continue to be carried out along the highway.

Tofino resident to call out the couple for their behaviour. “This is not cute,” she said. “This happened in Tofino, B.C., during an all-summer fire ban and level three water restriction.” Stage three water restrictions ban outdoor use of water.

“The crazy thing is I know they knew what they were doing was wrong because he immediately tried to put it out because of the black smoke.” Tarrant fears the couple left gasoline-soaked towels on the beach. “Which is just going to go back into our oceans and harm our wildlife further.”

She asked people to do their research. “Honestly this put the whole town at risk. … We’re not very big and one little fire can burn down the whole thing. If you want to keep coming back to Tofino, you’ve got to respect our rules please.”

Tarrant said she came across the video this past weekend. The couple seem to be tourists. She figures they set up a tripod for the video.

Tarrant said when she saw the video, “I just felt kind of disappointed” that the couple disregarded a major safety concern.

Signs stating that fires are not permitted on the beach are common, she said.

“The only reason I wanted to bring attention to it is because it’s an issue and I don’t think there’s a lot of realization about the (potential) consequences.”

The District of Tofino said in a statement that the Island is under a fire ban “which includes the prohibition of all beach fires and campfires in Tofino as regulated by the Province’s Coastal Fire Centre.”

It urged residents and visitors to Tofino to respect provincial fire regulations.

“Tofino is a special place where we encourage visitors and residents to enjoy beaches responsibly, please visit tofino.ca/beaches to follow all current regulations.”