Litterbug smokers increase fire threat along highways

Washington State Patrol troopers are cracking down on
drivers and their passengers who throw cigarette butts and
other burning stuff out of their cars.

Troopers have pulled over almost 1,000 cars for that
violation in the last year. It’s a big problem, especially
during the summer.

“The weather’s been good, the medians are drying up and
we’ve already had several median fires this year and the
big cause of that is from throwing out lit debris,” said
trooper Guy Gill.

Troopers are watching for people flicking
cigarettes butts out of car windows and it’s easy to spot,
especially at night.

“You see the little burnt embers dashing across
the freeway as someone throws a cigarette out and those
are definitely capable of causing a fire in the median,”
said Gill

The fine for throwing lit debris out of a car is
more than $1,000.