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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Snowfield Development Corp. was convicted on Wednesday of one charge under the Forest Protection Act resulting in a $500 fine for the company.

Snowfield was found guilty of setting a fire outdoors and not taking every reasonable precaution to prevent the fire from spreading.

Judge Bernadette Schmaltz ruled that Snowfield could not be fined on both charges originally levied at the company. The second charge of leaving the vicinity of a fire that had not yet been completely extinguished was dropped as were two related charges against Snowfield employee Ray Hill.

"There is clearly no doubt my client made a mistake," said defence lawyer Paul Smith. "A costly one."

The fire at Drybones Bay, 40 km southeast of Yellowknife on Great Slave Lake, burned 393 hectares of forest in June 2007.

It caused roughly $330,341 in damages and costs for fighting it after it burned for nearly 30 days. Smith said Snowfield is "a good corporate citizen" and "took quick and proactive steps to remediate the damage."

According to Schmaltz, the maximum fine that could be levied is $1,000 while the minimum is $25. She said she took into account the early guilty plea as well as the company having already spent a large amount of money - roughly $230,895, according to the Crown - on repairing damage from the fire, including damage to graveyards belonging to the Yellowknives Dene First Nations.

"The company does seem to have accepted responsibility for the actions of one of its employees right from the beginning," the judge said.

Schmaltz also recognized the company does not have a criminal record. The $500 fine was handed down in addition to a victim of crime surcharge of $25.

Schmaltz said the sentence had to send a message to the public that "companies and people do need to be careful when setting fires outside."

In addition to the $500 fine, Smith said the Crown still has the option of seeking damages from the company through civil action.

"There may be other financial repercussions," Schmaltz confirmed, but said her task was to deal with the criminal charges.