(a) No person shall:

(1) Fire or cause to be fired, any woodlot, forest or other wild land or property, material or vegetation being or growing thereon, other than brush in clearing land, either by dropping lighted matches, tobacco or other substance, or in any manner whatsoever without the consent of the owner or owners; or

(2) Start a fire or fires anywhere and permit same to spread to woodlots, forests or other wild lands, causing damage to or destruction of such property; or

(3) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, fire or cause to be fired any marshland in this State after March 1 in any year.

(b) The Department, upon application from any landowner or freeholder and after due investigation, may extend beyond March 1 the time during which marshland in this State may be fired, by the issuance of a permit thereto for such purpose, if it is found after such investigation that the landowner or freeholder has been prevented from firing landowner’s or freeholder’s marshland before March 1 by circumstances beyond landowner’s or freeholder’s control.

(c) Whoever violates this section shall be guilty of a class C environmental violation for each offense in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed for any damage caused by the setting of unlawful fires of any kind whatsoever.

Code 1915, § 2379A; 35 Del. Laws, c. 206, § 1; 40 Del. Laws, c. 191, § 11; Code 1935, § 2832; 7 Del. C. 1953, § 715; 57 Del. Laws, c. 739, § 56; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 275, §§ 52, 53, 71; 79 Del. Laws, c. 421, § 3.