As EnCana Corporation’s pipeline project draws a line between residents near Tomslake, B.C., a reward that could pump up to half a million dollars into the dispute might be the combustible it takes for the community fabric to go up in smoke.

A company representative said Friday that tips have started flowing since the oil and gas giant announced a $500,000 bounty last week for information leading to an arrest following four recent pipeline bombings in the area near Dawson Creek.

Meanwhile, local residents appear less inclined than ever to speak out publicly against the project and its impacts to their community.

“Money has been the means for buying co-operation right from day one. That’s how they sort out the people who will co-operate from those who won’t,” Dawson Creek area resident Barbara Swail said. “I think that’s the nature of the industry, beginning way before somebody started blowing up pipelines — turning neighbour against neighbour.”

Some previously outspoken locals have resorted to a quiet frustration for fear of becoming a police target, locals say.

“They’re afraid of ramifications, either from the companies or the RCMP,” said Swail, a member of Citizens for Responsible Energy Development in the Peace, which formed last month in response to the third bombing. “We’re having a really hard time getting people to sign a petition that we want to give our MLA.

“It’s been a hopeless, frustrating, fruitless uphill battle.”

Tomslake resident Iva Tuttle said people who have previously spoken with the media have since refused, even on the condition of anonymity, fearing a police investigation as well as damage to their reputation and livelihood in the once tightly knit community.

“Every time somebody speaks out they’re looked at as a suspect,” Tuttle said. “One person I’ve relied on for information told me this morning, ‘I can’t help anymore, because every time I say something I’m questioned.’”

Prior to the reward, she said the bombings resulted in a succession of finger pointing within the community. She fears a cash incentive will create more of the same, as well as keep RCMP hopping with false leads as people scramble for a piece of the $500,000.

“I’m really concerned it’s starting to tear the community apart,” Tuttle said. “You can almost feel an animosity coming through the community and it seems to be growing.”

In December, the Tomslake Association of Concerned Citizens raised $1,000 with the intension of offering its own reward. The money was offered to police, but Tuttle said she was told the reward was against RCMP policy. It remains in trust.

Brian Lieverse, EnCana community relations advisor in Dawson Creek, said police are dealing with a number of tips following the Jan. 13 reward announcement. “There probably will be some false leads come in, but we leave it up to the RCMP to follow up on the leads to make sure we don’t miss any credible ones,” he said.

“We took a long time discussing all the options before the reward was given,” Lieverse said. “You’re always going to have some individuals within the community who don’t like what’s been happening, but I think for the most part the community has been very supportive of us.”