Comment by parineum
1 day ago
Did he start the fire knowing it could kill people? Did his actions lead to the death of people?
That seems clear cut first degree murder to me, as I understand it (I'm not sure if it requires a specific person to be murdered but a pre-meditated act that kills people seems like it'd qualify to me).
> Did he start the fire knowing it could kill people? Did his actions lead to the death of people?
I think those things are to be decided in court. As for the charges and times, it's mentioned only the ranges for arson but there's nothing to stop them bringing charges of manslaughter for example. They'll build evidence and charge as such. It's the process.
It is possible and has precedent. Raymond Lee Oyler was convicted of first-degree murder for starting the Esperanza Fire. Five firefighters died fighting the fire.
>Raymond Lee Oyler, 54, of Beaumont, was sentenced to death for starting the Esparanza Fire in October 2006. He was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder, 19 counts of arson and 16 counts of possessing incendiary devices. https://kesq.com/news/2025/05/05/ca-supreme-court-upholds-de...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanza_Fire
> Did he start the fire knowing it could kill people?
Leaving aside the fact that we don't know yet if he actually started the fire: anyone who starts any fire without appropriate control measures (like extinguishers or containing the fire in something made to contain it) can theoretically be charged under the law for negligence - and practically will, if things go south.
And in a time where there's ample fuel for fires on the ground and the weather conditions are favorable to large fires (e.g. hot, low humidity, clear skies and strong winds) any kind of fire (even smoking - cigarette butts thrown out of car windows are a particularly bad fire source in Croatia) can quickly escalate into a full blown forest fire. Even things that one would not even perceive to be dangerous can cause fires... an all too common occurrence is a diesel car with a freshly regenerated DPF that's being parked on a parking lot that used to be overgrown with weed that's now dried out. The heat from the DPF is massive enough (> 500 °C) to lead to ignition of dried-out weeds (~ 300 °C).
So, it's not a stretch to assume that anyone starting an open fire should know it might escalate into a deadly disaster. And even the reckless cases that I mentioned (smokers, car drivers) can be charged as manslaughter here in Europe.
It’s certainly felony murder.