There was a discussion regarding this hunter last night on MSNBC's The Abrams Report...There was an Ecology guy condeming the hunter for being in the woods to shoot "Bambi and his family" and wants to press criminal charges for starting the fire with a signal flare. Seems there's a law against "Recklessly starting a fire that causes damage to forest lands, etc." Manslaughter was also mentioned. The other guy in the discussion was a talk show host who said that the hunter was smart to use a signal flare to save his life if he was lost, irregardless of the damage or further loss of life. He should be congratulated for his quick thinking under stress and no charges should be filed. Neither brought up any possible alternatives that could and should have been used in a dry ground summer hunt.
I will admit that while I have hunted for nearly 20 years, I never took a hunter's safety course. I gues that's why a signal flare has never been part of the gear I hunt with. The first signalling device that I carried - and still do - is a good whistle. These days, I also include a handheld GPS, a two-way radio, and a cell phone. The method I was taught in an extreme emergency was to fire my gun rapidly 3 times as an emergency signal. This "Hunter" seems like an idiot to me and I would agree that he should face charges.