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A man from Nelson, B.C., has been sentenced to two years, less a day, in custody after lighting four separate fires in three locations around the city in the heat of the 2024 wildfire season.
David Travis, 45, was sentenced in October in a Nelson provincial courtroom, just over a year after being arrested for three counts of arson.
A sentencing report outlining Travis’s actions, the sentencing decision and conditions of his parole was published online in December. Upon his release, Travis will be required to abide by the conditions of his three-year probation, which include staying 10 kilometres away from the city of Nelson.
In the decision, Judge Craig Sicotte said environmental factors like the hot dry weather and regional fire bans compound the severity of the offences.
“Intentionally lighting multiple fires in the locations that he did during hazardous fire conditions was so extremely dangerous that it created enormous risk of massive property destruction and loss of life,” said Sicotte.
A view of the Gyro Park fire in Nelson, B.C., July 24, 2024. (Submitted by Larissa Rivers)
On July 24, 2024, the day of the arson, there were 91 active fires in B.C.’s West Kootenay region, 66 of which were burning out of control.
Several communities in the region were on evacuation order due to the fires, and thick smoke was omnipresent.
Fire crews and resources from the City of Nelson were dispatched to impacted communities to fight the fires, leaving limited resources in town, according to Sicotte.
The Slocan Lake Wildfire burned north of Nelson in the summer of 2024. Image of a helicopter dumping water on a slope in the region. (B.C. Wildfire Service/Facebook)
Also on July 24, a wildfire burned through Jasper Alta., reducing half of the mountainous city to rubble.
The sentencing report states that at 6:30 p.m., David Travis lit the first of four fires. He started a grass fire in Nelson’s Gyro Park.
Two witnesses watched a man flee the scene and said the blaze spread laterally, which Sicotte said likely means there were multiple ignition points.
The fire quickly grew to approximately 1,000 square metres before being extinguished by the local fire department and a helicopter with a water bucket that happened to be in the area.
Travis’s backpack – containing lighters and a butane canister – was found, partially burned, at the park.
While the park fire was being extinguished, Travis broke into a nearby home that he had no connection to.
A map depicts a location where a fire was ignited by David Travis, July 24, 2024. (Nelson Police Department/Facebook)
He piled cardboard and a propane canister on a desk in the house and lit it on fire. Then, he carried three full garbage bags outside and lit the third fire of the day in the yard.
Witnesses noticed the fires and intervened, working to extinguish the blazes before damage occurred and until firefighters arrived.
While the fires in and outside the home were being extinguished, Travis fled and crossed the highway into an industrial area, according to the judgment.
There, witnesses saw him light a fire in a bush. The witnesses called emergency services to report the fire.
Travis was arrested nearby with two lighters still in his possession.
He pleaded guilty to the three counts of arson, one for each fire location, waiving his right to a trial.
Sicotte said this saved the court significant amount of time and resources, and shows Travis took responsibility for his actions.
A pre-sentence report done by a forensic psychologist states Travis chronically experiences auditory hallucinations and exhibits symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
At the time of the arson he was experiencing homelessness, was not taking prescribed psychiatric medication and was using crystal methamphetamine.
Sicotte said Travis provided limited explanation for why he lit the fires, but believed human trafficking was taking place in the city. The judge said he presumed Travis intended to punish or cleanse the city by burning it down.
Travis’s lawyer told the court that the accused was remorseful after starting the fires.
Since his arrest, Travis has been living at a treatment centre under the conditions of his bail.
Sentencing decision
Travis was sentenced to two years, less a day in custody for the three convictions of arson.
He has already spent 91 days in custody on these charges and was granted credit for time served at a rate of 1.5, which equates to 136 days.
This means his remaining sentence is 593 days in custody.
He is prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol and may not possess firearms or flammable or explosive products once he is released on probation.