Alberta RCMP have charged a 19-year-old man with mischief over $5,000 after he allegedly drove through a barley field, setting it on fire and startling the property owners.
The incident occurred in Strathcona County near Edmonton on Sept. 7, near Highway 21 and Township Road 532 at around 1:40 a.m.
Marina and Floyd Young were woken up by emergency crews early that morning. Marina said they were banging on their door as the flames raged in their field. “It was like a fire dance across the lawn,” Marina said. “There were four separate fires. They started one after the other.”
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Emergency crews found a GMC Envoy in flames on a service road adjacent to the burning field.
RCMP said they arrested the man, who was from Edmonton, at the scene. Officers determined the field and vehicle caught fire as a result of it driving through a dry field, said Strathcona County RCMP Const. Chantelle Kelly.
“He was driving most-likely erratically and caused it to spark,” she said. “Then the vehicle caught on fire and the field caught on fire.”
Marina said they likely lost 120 acres of barley. The loss makes up about three quarters of their crop.
“We’ve been told insurance won’t cover it because it was another vehicle that started it, but we’re not sure how they are going to get away with that,” she said. “I guess all we can do is suck it up and go again next year.”
