As with any law, If there is a law against recklessly starting a fire then it should be enforced. This individual did start a fire through a recless act. Don't know about the manslaughter. As for the envrionazi flamebait about shooting bambi and his family I don't think it belongs in this conversation. If a nature loving vegan idiot got lost in the backwoods and used a flare to signal help the same situation would prevail. (The idiot label here being applied to one who used a flare in a tinder box and not as a label on nature loving vegans - that is a discussion for a different forum <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

I think it is a sad statement on our media focus and the thoughlessness of the audience that the media attempts to attract that the flame-bait and the focus on litigation is chosen rather than to focus as you point out on the issue of what other alternatives the individual in question should have used to signal for help and how they may have stayed found instead of getting lost.

Seems we (as a society - not this forum) tend more to focus on blame and retribution and compensation than on learning from mistakes (ours or anyone elses).


BTW, anyone know just how much Stress this hunter was under? Was he simply at the end of his first day without his blanky or had he been wandering around out there without water and food trying to find his way home for a week?