What counts as the woods? Judge axes Nova Scotia’s ban that defied ‘commonsense definitions’

Posted 3 hours ago by

The Guardian

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfiresAs wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods.As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary.