To Burn or Not to Burn

We’re moving to a forest. It’s something that’s always on my mind. Our state along with most of Canada and the other Western United States tends to get lit on fire by dumbasses this time of year see exhibits 1, 2, and 3.

1. The man who solo hiked got lost, told no one where he was and then lit a whole forest on fire because his stupidity needed to reach new heights and burn a whole forest down.
2. Gender reveal party pyrite gone oh so very wrong.
3. And a quick estimate of how many of these are man made to shut up anyone who’s gonna say, BUT LIGHTNING!

But nothing, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is covered in fuel! And we have enough idiots that think that no one can tell them what to do who will idiotically toss a cigarette butt or defy a burn ban just because, “No one’s gonna tell me what I can and can’t do!”

Well, not us. Our state’s been under a burn ban for a significant part of the summer. Our county opted for an exception because we’re statistically wetter than almost all other counties in our state, but even that’s been overruled by our county Fire Marshall as of last week. And in all honesty, I wouldn’t light a fire near our forest in the summer if you paid me to. I just see all those firs dripping with sap and old fallen elderberry twigs and get twitchy.

We’ve got a substantial barrier going around the future house but boy do the cavalier attitudes of others make me nervous. I hope our neighbors have more sense than the general population but I do not believe in faith because I have seen too many good people get caught in the negligence of navel gazing idiots.

The question I’m trying to answer with this post and am failing to come to a conclusion on follows: AT what point does WILLFUL NEGLIGENCE become MALICE due to the burden inflicted upon others?

If you have an answer, hit the comments.