Put 'em out and trash the trash

Lit cigarettes that aren't properly snuffed out can smolder for hours.

When they're tossed on the side of the road, passing cars can fan the smoldering flame and keep that fire burning enough to spread to fuel sources such as dry grass and litter.

The fire in the cigarette is intensified by the wind from the cars, which leads to roadside fires.

"We were just looking at the fire up at the Forest Service nursery," Coeur d'Alene Fire Inspector Craig Etherton said Tuesday, referring to the fire that occurred Aug. 1 along Atlas Road in Coeur d'Alene.

"About the area of origin, there’s a whole bunch of cigarette butts, so that's a highly possible cause," he said.

Another roadside fire that broke out along Interstate 90 around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday also could have been caused by the careless flick of a cigarette. It occurred about a quarter-mile from where a fire kicked up Monday. Etherton confirmed that it was out, but the origin, like the Monday fire, could not be absolutely determined.

"There was all kinds of junk all over the side of the road, litter and cigarette butts," he said. "They couldn’t find the cause of the fire."

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Warren Merritt says it simply enough: "Don't throw smoking materials out of a car window."

"Use the ash tray. Make sure they're out before throwing them in the trash," he advised. "Use caution during this time of the year. As a matter of practice, you shouldn't be littering anyway."

Although cigarettes are often the cause of fires and copious amounts of butts can be found along main arterials, they're not the only problem.

Despite littering being a civic and social no-no, people still do it, adding to the present fire danger and upsetting North Idaho citizens who want to maintain the area's health and beauty.

"I'm thoroughly disgusted with how much trash and cigarette butts are thrown out," said Hayden resident Nancy Reish, who started picking up trash along her daily exercise walking route back in March.

"When I'm walking along, I'm just getting this head full of steam because I'm getting madder and madder," she said. "With all these forest fires going on, it just doesn't make sense to me.

"Why would somebody leave a dirty diaper when there's a dumpster at Honeysuckle (Beach) 50 feet from their car? It’s just lazy."

Reish said she finds all kinds of trash near her Upper Hayden Lake Road neighborhood. She said she doesn't think the concept of picking up after yourself is really drummed into litterbugs' heads anymore, "and if it is, shame on them."

"It probably is everywhere, but I know in this area it’s a lot. I've talked to other people and they feel the same way," she said. "Don’t litter. Don’t throw your cigarette butts out. To me, that's all you have to do. Be more conscious of it. Teach your kids. We’re so lucky to live here, and the reason we are is because it's beautiful."

But maybe people aren't thinking of littering as a problem because it's not very enforced.

Coeur d'Alene Police Capt. Lee Brainard said it's difficult to catch a litterbug unless a report is filed or unless the person is actively littering in the presence of law enforcement.

Brainard said very rarely are litterbugs cited. Many times litterers receive verbal warnings rather than citations. In 2017 Coeur d'Alene officers issued 12 citations. This year they're only at nine.

"As you can imagine, we are very busy with higher priority violent crimes that are occurring. There are a variety of things that keep us very, very busy," he said. "We don't intentionally ignore the littering at all, it's something that's important to all of us, but on a regular basis it doesn’t come to our attention."

Etherton said cigarette butts aren't always the cause of fires. People slamming on their brakes, chains dragging and other car-related sparks do happen.

"It does show where we’re dry for sure," he said. "If there's a time of year to be more conscientious and less of a litterbug then that’s definitely this time of year."