Mervyn Perry recalls turning off the TV and going to bed one night in May 2023 with no idea that a tire was being lit on fire on his land in Barrington, N.S., and that the flame would grow to be part of the largest wildfire in the province’s history.

Court documents from last month’s sentencing of Dalton Stewart, who was charged under the Forests Act, revealed it was Perry’s land near Barrington Lake where he set the tire on fire.

It wasn’t until the 86-year-old saw smoke in the days following and heard social media chatter that he realized the fire was set on his property, which spans more than 100 hectares.

“You're on someone else's property to begin with. Go on your own property. Buy a piece of property and destroy your own,” Perry said, noting the fire was started several kilometres

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