Nothing beats smoking weed on a scenic hike. Taking a long trek to find the perfect place to toke is pretty much a smoker’s right of passage. But if you’re going to take your bud on the go, it’s best to make sure you’re not flicking your Bic in a field full of dry tinder, or leaving a roach near some flammable brush.
This week, the pursuit of the perfect smoke session sparked disaster for one Hawaiian teen, when embers from his burning cannabis ignited a wildfire that eventually burned some 80 acres of brush.
According to a pair of reports from Hawaii News Now, 18-year-old Tyler Osborne-Senatore was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment after he emerged from the fire covered in ash and told police that his pot pipe was responsible for the fire.
The blaze started at 9am near the Piilani Highway in Kihei, Maui, and could eventually be seen burning 200 yards from the freeway. Responding immediately, dozens of firefighters from stations across Maui took to the surrounding areas to fight the raging fire. Eventually, they corralled the blaze at 7:45pm, more than 10 hours after it started.
Osborne-Senatore told police that he had tried to contain the fire after embers jumped out of his pipe, but that it spread to quickly, and he was not able to stop it. Thankfully, no homes were damaged and no people were injured in the all-day inferno.
It is not yet clear what kind of consequences Osborne-Senatore will face, but the unfortunate accident is a good reminder for cannabis users across the world: pick your smoke spots wisely, and always leave your surroundings cleaner than you found them. That means pick up litter and make sure your burning cherry stays in your bowl, and not on the ground.
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