Olean Police are threatening to fine anyone they catch throwing a cigarette butt out their car window after a series of mulch and brush fires.
According to a post on the department's Facebook page, police and the Olean Fire Department have had to respond to 10 fires, likely started by cigarette butts, over the past two weeks.
Police say the fires have primarily been happening in the medians in downtown Olean along North Street where the butts have ignited freshly laid mulch.
Responding to these fires ties up vital resources, according to the post, and police will be actively monitoring and handing out fines if they catch someone carelessly discarding a cigarette butt.
