I’m just trying to figure this out.
If the fire the kids had set had detroyed half an acre instead of 350 acres, would they be deserving of the rape and years of mental and spiritual hell everyone seems to think these kids deserve?
It was an accident, right? The fireworks were illegal but it wasn’t like they were intentionally setting fire to the woods.
Two of the boys are in middle school. Do you think they have the same responsibility as adults? I hope they have a compassionate judge.
Let’s not forget that everyone in this state (where the hell are you from, anyway?) remembers the Cerro Grande fire in 2000. We would prefer not to end up looking like Los Alamos, especially because of stupidity.
Sure, a combined 515 acres isn’t a lot for a wildfire out somewhere like the Gila (10,300 acres already burned in two seperate fires), but this was on both sides of the river in the city. If it spread east while still in the bosque, it would’ve gotten into neighboorhoods. If it spread west, it would’ve gotten into neigherboorhoods. The only reason hundreds of homes weren’t destroyed in this city, unlike Arizona, is that the crews did a good job and got lucky.
And what’s this about homes? The north valley may have expensive homes, but it’s also got lots of cheaper older ones, maybe worth 50k. 150k is a fair value for a nice, middle-class house, which is what a lot of homes in that area are. Let’s not forget the schools that were nearby as well.
It doesn’t take a lot brainpower to realize that fireworks, especially illegal fireworks, in the middle of a choked forest, in the middle of a long drought, is generally a bad idea.
I don’t think 13 year olds should be tried as adults. However, 3-12 months in juvenile facilities and an enormous amount of community service certainly seem appropriate.
Actually, I don’t give a rat’s rear end about how minimal the acreage burned was. It’s incredibly important that firefighters were in danger as they put it out.
I never did stuff like that when I was a kid, or even would have thought of it. I guess I always realized from day one that fire was a dangerous thing.
Exactly. Yet we go through this every fricking year! At least one county in New Mexico will spend months predicting yet another dry summer. Some asshat(s) will start a fire, usually by setting off fireworks. Then that county will ban fireworks. Do you see a pattern here?
Also,
Well, yeah, they got lucky… when they bothered to show up! For the first couple of hours, this fire was being fought by residents with buckets and garden hoses. Albuquerque Fire Department seemed to be on vacation.
And don’t get me started on Gil Gallegos and his “informative” press conference.
Yes, this fire was devastating. Yet, I can’t help but think that it was exacerbated by the bungling incompetence of the City of Albuquerque.
For people who don’t live here, let me explain the bosque/river thing.
The river itself is very shallow with numerous sandbars. It is also narrow as rivers go. This is not a “real” river where you jump in the boat and cruise. It’s more like a big creek. No boats.
The bosque itself is very narrow on each side, probably no more than a few hundred feet from the bank out. (this varies of course)
Through most of town, especially on the more populated east side, there are roads on the outer limit of the bosque, and neighborhoods right across the road.
New fires were starting by the minute from wind-borne embers, some traveling hundreds of yards to ignite a new hotspot.
The fire actually jumped the road on the east side, right in the middle of fairly high density housing.
With winds gusting 30+, rush hour traffic, and our fucked up bridge situation out here, it amazes me that whole neighborhoods weren’t torched.
BTW, the local news quoted veteran wildland firefighters saying they would much rather be in open forest country than in a riverside bosque.
They did something stupid, reckless and illegal. And they managed to cause a lot of damage. Therefore they should be punished immediatlly.
But it sounds like they did it not out of some malicious entent, but because they wanted some excitement and didn’t think about the possible consequences.
In other words, they were thinking a lot like 13 and 16 year olds. The fact that 13 and 16 year olds do things out of immature stupidity and not malice is WHY we have juvinale court.
But you on the other hand think it’s fitting that this reckless stupidity be punished by HAVING THESE CHILDREN RAPED?
I think I’m going to be ill.
I do live in ABQ. The hospital I work at is downtown, and I could see the flames and smoke from ut window.
My bestfriends husband was with one of the blackhawks that was called in, and the secretary in my office husband was fighting it. That is where I got my info.
I’m assuming, from your user name (forgive me if I’m wrong), that you’re female. It’s another thread topic entirely, but it’s been my observation that jackass 13-year-old behavior seems to occur predominantly amongst the males of the species, even the very bright ones. Pyromania and fascination with fireworks, in particular, appear to be testosterone-related. Why, I have no idea. (See, also, the “BTW” on Kalimero’s post, above - I know exactly where he’s coming from!)
Hell, I’m a 50-year-old graduate of an Ivy Leaque university and of a well-respected law school, and I still get a little kick out of torching things. Now, I’m old enough and experienced enough to do it responsibly, having a more adult appreciation for what can happen when it gets out of control. But I’ve got to admit that I really enjoy a campfire. 
I agree with the others who’ve said that these kids need some long, tough hours of cleaning up and replanting the forest.