Target Shooters Blamed for Blaine County Wildfire

I’m glad some of these people don’t serve on juries.  Several people shared a video with me that’s making the rounds on Facebook.  It alleges that some people shooting on public lands are responsible for the fire in Blaine County’s Ohio Gulch.  I’ve looked at the video, and all I see is a small group of people walking away from a burning patch.  “But someone said,” or “Someone thinks,” aren’t really much evidence.

We Share a Lot of Blame

I grant a lot of our fires are started by people, intentionally and more often unintentionally (I read last weekend that more than half of the fires in Canada are pinned on human activity), but often in life I’ve found myself eating my words because I leaped to conclusions before having the full story.  Just last week I offered an opinion on-air about the killing of a British politician.  Then I said if I was wrong I would offer an on-air apology.

The Dangers of Early Conclusions

Did you ever see a film called The Ox-Bow Incident?  It’s about how a bunch of men hang some suspected criminals, only to discover later they made a big mistake.  The theme is similar to a later Clint Eastwood movie.  Here’s a thought: let investigators do their work, and if they find evidence that backs up a snippet of video, then fine.  I had a buddy growing up who used to repeat a phrase from his grandfather.  “I don’t believe anything I hear and only half of what I see,” were the words from the old man.  He didn’t mean it literally, but offered it as a warning.