Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire

We're in the Yahoo Headlines today: Firefighters battle wildfire in Arizona.

Firefighters struggled Wednesday to stop a 2,450-acre wildfire from jumping a highway in scenic Oak Creek Canyon and roaring into an area of evacuated homes and resorts. Nearly 600 firefighters were on the lines Wednesday, backed by at least a dozen aircraft and nearly three-dozen fire trucks, but the blaze was only 5 percent contained in the steep, rugged terrain.
Flames approached the canyon's two-lane highway in places during the night but crews were able to light backfires to remove fuel from its path, officials said Wednesday morning.

California gets earthquakes, Florida gets hurricanes...we get fires. And pool drownings. With all the warnings we get for both, we still get proof that evolution can work in reverse:

The fire started Sunday as a campfire and spread quickly, forcing the evacuation of about 400 homes and businesses in the canyon more than 90 miles north of Phoenix. Residents of 180 homes on the north side of Sedona, who were evacuated Sunday, were going to be allowed to return Wednesday, said incident commander Paul Broyles.

A campfire. A 2450-acre wildfire started because of a friggin' campfire. YOU'RE IN ARIZONA, PEOPLE. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE IN HELL, THIS IS IT: BONE DRY AND HOT. I hate camping, but even I know to throw water over a fire (maybe several times just to be sure) when I'm done, and keep your food wrapped up unless you want a bear as your dinner companion.

Reading this article--and hearing on the radio this morning that Operation Hydration is being started because all the firefighters out there need drinking water---pisses me off to no end. I hope the person, or persons, responsible for this fire keels over and dies from guilt.

If it were possible to prosecute the guilty, I wouldn't fine them some huge amount. And I wouldn't put them in jail, either. I'd plop a trailer home smack dab in the middle of the land they'd burned to a crisp and say, "Welcome to your new place. Enjoy, because you're never going to be allowed to leave."

All I have to say is, what goes around, comes around, and you'll get yours. Guaranteed.