• The Publisher’s Notebook •

Malibu Wildfire and ‘Arson’ Justice

BY ANNE SOBLE

This week’s Letters to the Editor section includes five of the many letters sent to the newspaper in response to last week’s letter by the aunt of one of the suspects charged with allowing an illegal campfire to escalate out of control during strong Santa Ana winds and causing a wildfire that claimed 53 homes and resulted in untold personal loss and tragedy in the Corral Canyon area.
Revenge is not the objective of judicial action; but blame and accountability are critical objectives, and prevention of similar behavior is the paramount goal. Five men are charged with the offenses currently available under the law in these circumstances. It is important to establish the precedent that those who take actions with the potential for the same catastrophic results will have to answer for the consequences of their behavior.
As anyone with any contact with the legal system is aware, its wheels can grind slowly, due in part to overcrowded court dockets and the role of delay as a defense strategy. If some, or all, of the men are determined to be guilty of the offenses with which they are charged, the system will address whether incarceration, restitution, or community service is most appropriate; but few will argue that these men shouldn’t be required to comprehend the enormity of how their actions irrevocably affected others.
Start of a wildfire by reckless behavior has the same end result as criminal arson, or pyromania. In these uncharted legal waters, many issues still need to be resolved. Perhaps there should be degrees of arson, as there are with murder. Application of the concept of second-or-third degree arson could indicate the seriousness of irresponsible actions that result in a major wildfire.
In addition, the dictates of fairness require uniformity in how arson justice is meted out. A homeless, mentally-ill man recently was fined $100.6 million and faces 45 months of jail time for starting the Day Fire. By comparison, community service is being discussed as possible punishment in the case of the Corral Fire. In the Santa Barbara Tea Fire that claimed four times as many homes as the Corral blaze, no charges have been filed against the 10 college students suspected of starting it.
Irrespective of intent, behavior that contributes to, or exacerbates, the potential for wildfire must be held publicly accountable in a way that recognizes its gravity.