Edmonton mom frustrated, angry after environmental group deflates her SUV tires in climate change stunt

A group of environmentalists is going around Edmonton and other Canadian cities deflating people’s tires if they drive gas guzzlers like SUVs – but one woman believes their tactics are hurting their cause.

Brandee Rintoul, who lives in Edmonton’s McQueen neighbourhood, noticed two tires on her SUV were flat.

“I was frustrated,” she recounted. “How was I going to get my kids to where they needed to go and how was I going to get to my doctor’s appointment?”

A letter was left on her SUV from a group called “The Tire Extinguishers.”

“I was really stressed out and then I read the letter and it said they let the air out of the tire,” said Rintoul.

The Edmonton mom was relieved her tires weren’t slashed and had no problem filling them back up.

But she thinks the environmentalists should rethink their techniques.

“If they just left a flyer saying they feel my vehicle is a gas guzzler, I would have read it,” she said. “But because they made me angry, I don’t want to listen to what they have to say.”

The website for the “The Tire Extinguishers” says the group does this to defend themselves against climate change and air pollution, vandalising personal property for the very purpose of ruining the SUV owner’s day.

“I understand their passion for protecting the climate and environment but doing mischief stuff like that just makes people more angry,” said Rintoul.

Dozens of deflations by this group have been reported in B.C. and Ontario too.

Tire slashings in Delwood may be unrelated

Edmonton police have had no confirmed reports however, EPS did confirm there was a tire slashing event on Sept. 18. In total, 13 vehicles had slashed tires in the Delwood community.

It’s not clear if “The Tire Extinguishers” had anything to do with that. For one, there were no letters left behind. Those acts of vandalism are still under investigation.

Andrew Aparvary, who lives in Delwood, says families are being hurt by these tactics.

“Most of us are struggling now with COVID on the backside and a bit of a recession with all the inflation, these kinds of things can make or break families,” said Aparvary. “You can go from being able to put food on the table to not being able to.”

Aparvary is aware of “The Tire Extinguishers” group. He’s unsure if they had anything to do with the vandalism in Delwood, but if they did, he says they’re going about things the wrong way.

“No one is going to agree with you because they wrecked your stuff,” he said. “You won’t gain any support or any following based on the fact you’re destroying other people’s property.”