Fires Near Agua Dulce

It seems that the fire danger in Southern California has died down for the moment.  What a tragedy.  I noticed that one of the major fires (Buckweed) was located near Agua Dulce, perhaps the most prominent trail towns in SoCal.  I have not heard any news from Donna Saufley to know how she weathered the fires, but since nothing has popped up on the ADZPCTKO Yahoo! Groups site, I imagine that she she came through unscathed.  I have to imagine that there were a lot of neighbors in Agua Dulce and Santa Clarita that were victimized by the fires.

Interestingly, the Buckweed fire was started by a 10-year-old kid, who was playing with matches.  Some people are asking that this kid be tried in court as an adult, and I cannot think of anything more ridiculous.  Certainly, there was a lot of damage from the Buckweed fire, but I cannot agree with punishing a 10-year-old like an adult.  I consider that I was fortunate I never burned my house or the neighbor's house when I was 10.  Kids play with matches, and unfortunately his exploration led to a ton of damage.  

This kid will live with his actions for the rest of his life, and I think that the guilt he will live with for the rest of his life will be enough to warrant punishment.  If there is a suitable way to punish this kid, I think that he should be forced to hike.  Yeah, make him experience the pains and labors hikers endure to hike through that terrain.  Maybe he should be forced to do trail maintenance to see what trail maintainers do to care for the PCT in that area.  Probably more appropriate, would be that he do some home construction with Habitat for Humanity so that h knows what really goes into building a home.  Perhaps then he can better understand the consequence of his actions and gain an appreciation for the area in which he lives.