Posted on 10/30/2007 10:11:26 PM PDT by Santa Fe_Conservative
Edited on 10/30/2007 10:38:14 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A boy playing with matches started a fire in north Los Angeles County that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week, authorities said Tuesday. Sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht said she did not know the boy's exact age, but she believed he was younger than a teenager.
The boy, whose name and age were not released, was interviewed a day after the Buckweed Fire was sparked Oct. 21, said sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht.
"He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," said Hecht said in a statement.
The boy was released to his parents, and the case will be be presented to the district attorney's office, Hecht said.
The 60-square-mile fire began in an area near Agua Dulce and quickly spread by fierce desert winds. It was among more than a dozen major wildfires that killed 14 people and blackened 809 square miles from Los Angeles to the Mexican border.
Authorities arrested five people for arson during that period, but none have been linked to any of the major blazes.
I live in Temecula in SW Riverside County in Southern California. During the fire storms I was amazed that none started in my area...since the Santanas were blowing up to 60mph here and it was hot and very dry.
This Monday afternoon I started my propane barbeque to slow cook some ribs and when I went out to check the temp, I saw an unusual flame and it turns out that a plastic pool chair had blow over during the winds at the time of the fires and the leg of the chair was too near the barbeque and had caught fire.
If I had waited a half hour or so more....it may have started a fire that could have become dangerous...
Of course I'm 60 years old, so my Dad didn't have any comment.
Homeland Security IMO is the welcome to living in the future of a Global Police State.
It is just a matter of time before we get the chips for Global ID.
I am amazed the kid found matches.
Because I would have to hunt all day around my home to find a lighter.
But then again I don’t smoke, light the fireplace or candles.
Can’t trust candles to be safe with 3 large Labradors and have been Lab owners for the past twenty.
We don’t even own a BBQ.
I can’t see the kid getting the book thrown at him because unlike an adult he is not mentally mature enough to have done this for the idea of burning homes down.
He will have a huge lesson to learn and bare some responsibilty but hopefully not by a bunch of zero tolerance homeland security nut cases.
The latest is now, Homeland Security is saying the kid is 12 years old...So far it’s gone from 9 to 10 and now it’s 12 years old.I'd imaging the firestorms he's living through now would make you grow up quick.
It's your contempt and lack of empathy for this kid that's repelling.I thought DoughtyOne original response showed balance, compassion, and wisdom. All he was saying was that parents needed to be especially careful about kids playing with fire in these mega fire prone areas.
He didn't say that he or his kids had never played with fire, the parents were bad parents or he was a perfect parent, or that the whole family should be locked up for life. He just said be extra careful because of the severe consequences in these areas.
It would have been better if this kid and his family had avoided the crushing guilt they must feel about this. I'll bet a lot of parents in fire prone areas are keeping a closer eye on their kids and fire because of this. But kids are curious and resourceful.
This young boy's life should not be written off because of this childish but very expensive mistake. I know DoughtyOne agrees with that as well. Unlike quite a few of the others who have posted on this thread asking for severe punishment.
I'm really glad you guys are standing up for the kids. Children are gifts from God and should be treated as such. I just don't think DoughtyOne is an enemy here.
The parents were terribly lax in this instance. This probably was not the first inkling they have gotten that their kid has a firebug problem.So the responsible thing for a parent to do when they catch their kid playing with fire is to ... ? Maybe take him to the local detention center for lifetime warehousing. Take themselves to jail knowing they will be lax parents if their resourceful child ever does it again?
Some kids are more of a struggle than others. Deciding the parents were "terribly lax" without knowing the real situation is a little quick on the draw, don't ya think?
I bet this was years ago if it was now a days the State would force him onto meds. make you take parenting classes ect...One of my nephews friends called the police when his cousin wouldn't let him play with a toy. lol They had a long talk with him and then went on with their business.
Actually, I bet it was one one of the better parts of their day.
It has a tendency to get one’s attention.
No doubt the kid is greying and has full beard by now.
Get yourself together, “free thinker.” This kid started the fire in his own back yard. Evidently he felt uninhibited enough to do this in his own yard. The parents certainly should have known that their child was enthralled with fire. He was 10 or 11, this propensity just didn’t happen overnight. These parents don’t seem to even know who or what there child is capable of. That is poor parenting.
UPDATE: The boy who started the Santa Clarita fire is TEN years old.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5741208
Our educational system can take a big share of the blame. I asked a local kindergarten teacher if teaching the kids “not to play with fire” is part of their curriculum and she said there are more important things they need to teach!
These parents don’t seem to even know who or what there child is capable of. That is poor parenting.Sorry, I remember being 10 and I and my friends playing with fire. We were well supervised with stay at home moms wherever we went. Luckily we didn't start any real fires. It wasn't because of any skill on our part.
I seem to be firmly between the hang him now and swat his hands brigades. He did something serious. Of course he needs to be punished. But the way folks are now they would have him up for life without parole in no time.
He's a kid. 10 year olds don't have very good judgment. From the confessions of we old and wise ones on this very thread you can tell kids do bad things. Once in awhile those bad things cause terrible consequences. Parents are supposed to prevent the bad things but kids are resourceful.
If he was a chronic firebug and mom and dad were not dealing with it then they should pay a price as well. But there is no evidence of that. A little rock throwing is the worst of it so far. Quite a few little boys would be put away if that was a major crime.
Here's some quotes from the article posted above:
The prosecutor's office was "not sure whether they'll bring any charges, given that it was an accidental fire," Los Angeles County fire Capt. Michael Brown said Wednesday. In a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he did not think the child meant any harm.It sounds like the authorities feel the same. He's 10. It's a tragedy. There but for the Grace of God go many little boys. Get over it.The boy could be incarcerated for three years if found guilty of a lesser charge of unlawfully starting a fire. For that count, prosecutors would have to prove only that he understood the risks of his actions, but Yamashiro said winning a conviction on even that charge could be difficult.
"They'd have to prove that at 10 years old he really appreciated what the risk of playing with matches would have been," Yamashiro said. "It's difficult to prosecute him under that theory."
UPDATE: The boy who started the Santa Clarita fire is TEN years old.Thanks for the link and his age. For some reason I thought he might be 10. He seems to have confessed pretty quickly.
Children are gifts from God. I don't think He would want us to be too quick to toss His gifts away.
Do you honestly see any judgement expressed in that post at all?
If anything, I suggested it would be merciful for parents to prevent kids having access to matches.
LOL, this topic has certain pushed the buttons of a lot of people.
Yes he will have a huge issue to deal with. And I agree that is too bad. While we all can certainly feel compassion for the kid and what he’s having to deal with, I cannot help but have more compassion for those who lost the home and belongings they have worked their life to accumulate. I would submit that the children of those families are going to quite a bit to deal with themselves.
I appreciate your comments. This thread has been a real eye opener for me. Very few of the people reading it were able to understand what you were able to. Yikes.
As posted a few posts earlier, I do feel compassion for this kid, but I haven’t seen any of the kids who lost their homes mentioned on this thread.
Aren’t they due any compassion? I’m not picking on you here. It just astounds me the pitty this kid has received on this thread, and God’s other children have been less than an afterthought throughout.
The comments like, “I sure hope this kid isn’t treated too unfairly.” drive me nuts. I don’t want to see him overly inconvenienced, but folks, get a grip. Whether we like it or not, he burned down the homes of other children, whether we want to focus on that or not. Does Jesus not have compassion for them? Shouldn’t we?
Sheesh!
Since you asked, yes, I did.
Despite your statements of idealism, you weren't/aren't a perfect parent. Your own story isn't over yet. You have no idea what your own child may or may not due in the future.
Another thing I know is that children are children, that a ten year old is still very much a child, and that no matter how wonderful his/her parents, *every* child will do something sometime that a parent trained them not to do.
If you can prove somehow that these parents knowingly allowed their child to play with matches, then that's a whole different ballgame.
Otherwise your statements are based on a whole lot of assumptions.
"With the merciful [God] wilt shew [Himself] merciful." (Psalm 18:25)
The comments like, “I sure hope this kid isn’t treated too unfairly.” drive me nuts. I don’t want to see him overly inconvenienced, but folks, get a grip. Whether we like it or not, he burned down the homes of other children, whether we want to focus on that or not. Does Jesus not have compassion for them? Shouldn’t we?You're absolutely right that the other people of all ages need compassion and our help as well. They are all living through a nightmare of unbelievable proportions. A lot of people are doing everything they can to help the victims of this fire. We lost our home to fire when I was 6 and I can still vividly remember it till this day.
But the current fad is to treat children as way more responsible then they really are. I remember a serious debate not too many years ago about putting 12 year olds to death. I think it was after those school shootings in Arkansas.
We need to find some balance here. Yes they deserve punishment. It has to be that way for their own good. But we need to remember that their brains are still developing physically and not all circuits are firing yet. They are still learning how to "drive" them. Juvenile justice should be focused on rehabilitation and not vengeance. An old fashioned idea that has lost favor in our modern disposable society.
It's the same story about making matches overly available to kids. Obviously it's a lot better to prevent a tragedy like this in the first place. We know kids are kids and will do bad stuff. We need to take extra effort to protect everybody from the worst consequences. Fire in these firestorm prone areas is one of them.
I think this kid and his family deserve to have some people running defense them. I tend to focus more on the lost sheep because there are plenty of people tending the flock. But you're right, they're all God's children and this is a tragedy.
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