Boy with matches started fire

[Otto 83]

Officials: Boy with matches started fire By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer

5 minutes ago

Officials blamed a wildfire that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week on a boy playing with matches, and said they would ask a prosecutor to consider the case.

The boy, whose name and age were not released, admitted to sparking the fire on Oct. 21, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht said Tuesday. "He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," Hecht said in a statement. The boy was released to his parents, and the case will be presented to the district attorney's office, Hecht said. It was not clear if he had been arrested or cited by detectives.

The fire began in an area near Agua Dulce and quickly spread. Ferocious winds helped it quickly spread. It was among 15 or so major wildfires that destroyed some 2,100 homes and blackened 809 square miles from Los Angeles to the Mexican border last week. Seven deaths were blamed directly on the fires, six evacuees died of natural causes and one person died of a fall.

Authorities arrested five people for arson during that period, but none have been linked to any of the major blazes. All but four of the blazes are now fully contained. Firefighters on Wednesday continued to cut lines around the remaining fires and kept a close eye on the weather.

Forecasters have said moderate Santa Ana winds could pick up later in the week.

Investigators have blamed an arsonist for setting a destructive wildfire in Orange County that blackened 28,500 acres and destroyed 16 homes. Authorities were seeking the driver of a white Ford F-150 pickup truck spotted in a canyon area around the time the fire broke out. They said they wanted to talk to the driver, but stopped short of calling the person a suspect. Officials offered a $285,000 reward to anyone with information that will lead to an arrest and conviction.

Edited October 31, 2007 by Karin und Otto

[~*Maria*~ 1]

[almaty 19]

spank him

[*JG* 2]

Sad....so sad.

[Scott & Lai 12]

spank him

Spank his parents....

[mawilson 2,133]

Lethal injection now please.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Unless you come forward and turn yourself in, or someone sees you - how do they figure out who started a wild fire?

Last time was worse IMO - where the fire was started not by a kids prank gotten out of hand - but by a Parks Service employee who was scared of losing their job.

[JElsafty 0]

spank him

Spank his parents....

Why his parents? Can you say you honestly never found playing with fire interesting as a child? I'm sure this child really thought about the word arson when he did this or did he even know what the word meant It's a very sad situation indeed.

[*julez* 124]

spank him

Spank his parents....

Why his parents? Can you say you honestly never found playing with fire interesting as a child? I'm sure this child really thought about the word arson when he did this or did he even know what the word meant It's a very sad situation indeed.

Exactly! My dad was a fire fighter and my younger brother was obsessed with fire. Once he started the curtain in our motor home on fire. Thankfully it was discovered before it got out of control. I assure you, all of my siblings were well aware of the dangers of fire. Fire safety is also an annual topic in schools. Kids often do dangerous things despite the lessons taught by parents and educators. I don't fault the parents in this situation at all.

Edited October 31, 2007 by julezabelle

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Must have missed the age of the 'boy', but I wonder if this ends up in court - will he be charged as an adult?

Seems odd to have these stipulations on maximum penalties for minors, but be able to circumvent them based on the nature of the crime. Makes the whole thing rather pointless.

[JODO 2]

Parents can be held liable for the criminal/negligent actions of their minor children. In this case, this little boy needs to be imprisoned until he reaches majority.

[Scott & Lai 12]

spank him

Spank his parents....

Why his parents? Can you say you honestly never found playing with fire interesting as a child? I'm sure this child really thought about the word arson when he did this or did he even know what the word meant It's a very sad situation indeed.

Exactly! My dad was a fire fighter and my younger brother was obsessed with fire. Once he started the curtain in our motor home on fire. Thankfully it was discovered before it got out of control. I assure you, all of my siblings were well aware of the dangers of fire. Fire safety is also an annual topic in schools. Kids often do dangerous things despite the lessons taught by parents and educators. I don't fault the parents in this situation at all.

So, the parents bear no responsibility at all in this?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

spank him

Spank his parents....

Why his parents? Can you say you honestly never found playing with fire interesting as a child? I'm sure this child really thought about the word arson when he did this or did he even know what the word meant It's a very sad situation indeed.

Exactly! My dad was a fire fighter and my younger brother was obsessed with fire. Once he started the curtain in our motor home on fire. Thankfully it was discovered before it got out of control. I assure you, all of my siblings were well aware of the dangers of fire. Fire safety is also an annual topic in schools. Kids often do dangerous things despite the lessons taught by parents and educators. I don't fault the parents in this situation at all.

So, the parents bear no responsibility at all in this?

Without more substantive details than "Boy with matches started fire" - its easy to rush to judgement.

Hard to say either way IMO. At this point.

[*julez* 124]

spank him

Spank his parents....

Why his parents? Can you say you honestly never found playing with fire interesting as a child? I'm sure this child really thought about the word arson when he did this or did he even know what the word meant It's a very sad situation indeed.

Exactly! My dad was a fire fighter and my younger brother was obsessed with fire. Once he started the curtain in our motor home on fire. Thankfully it was discovered before it got out of control. I assure you, all of my siblings were well aware of the dangers of fire. Fire safety is also an annual topic in schools. Kids often do dangerous things despite the lessons taught by parents and educators. I don't fault the parents in this situation at all.

So, the parents bear no responsibility at all in this?

So, what are you going to do? Imprison the parents? Sue them? I doubt they encouraged their son to play with matches to start a wildfire. I'm sure these parents will suffer greatly for the actions of their son, whether or not they are held accountable for his actions. Personally, I have some empathy for them.

[JElsafty 0]

spank him

Spank his parents....

Why his parents? Can you say you honestly never found playing with fire interesting as a child? I'm sure this child really thought about the word arson when he did this or did he even know what the word meant It's a very sad situation indeed.

Exactly! My dad was a fire fighter and my younger brother was obsessed with fire. Once he started the curtain in our motor home on fire. Thankfully it was discovered before it got out of control. I assure you, all of my siblings were well aware of the dangers of fire. Fire safety is also an annual topic in schools. Kids often do dangerous things despite the lessons taught by parents and educators. I don't fault the parents in this situation at all.

So, the parents bear no responsibility at all in this?

So, what are you going to do? Imprison the parents? Sue them? I doubt they encouraged their son to play with matches to start a wildfire. I'm sure these parents will suffer greatly for the actions of their son, whether or not they are held accountable for his actions. Personally, I have some empathy for them.

You can raise your children to the best of your ability, but untimately, there's always curiosity about things even though mom and dad says no. I was told repeatedly not to play with fire, but when my dad would burn down fields I was right there thinking WOW AWESOME! You're told not to drink and drive and how many of us have been stupid and done that? Parents fault for that?