Burning books caused wildfire, destroyed homes

Maybe books should come with a warning: ‘do not burn at home’. Especially since on Wednesday a Florida resident caused a wildfire by doing so. He set paperbacks and magazines ablaze in his backyard. Or at least that’s how it all started. Of course, he did not think his action would end up in a massive disaster. All he wanted was get rid of his ‘junk’.

Indeed, the fire spread, and it wasn’t long before 700 acres were enveloped in flames. At least 150 people had to leave their homes, 15 of which were destroyed. Not to mention that more than 170 emergency workers tried to contain the flames.

“What happened next was we had 40 to 50 miles-per-hour gusts of winds, and it pushed the embers right outside of the fire line and it just ran through a very dense forest and threatened many homes. At least two homes are lost.” Florida Service spokeswoman Annaleasa Winter said.

In Florida, burning books is illegal, well, burning ‘garbage’ in general. However, the man will not be facing any charges, because ‘this was not malicious’. According to the police, the man was ‘acting very remorseful’ indeed. Not for burning the books, but for causing the wildfire, that is.

Well, he will still “be liable for the cost of fighting the fire and any damage done.” Wow, that’s some amount for sure! Not to mention all the ‘angry’ residents. Thank God, there were no personal injuries, so everyone is safe now. Still, there is irreparable damage that cannot be fixed.

So, all in all, people should really avoid burning stuff at home. Especially on a windy day. Let’s not forget that poor guy only wanted to save some money by burning his unwanted items. There must be other ways to do that, surely. Let’s consult the cards to see whether this could have been prevented. What’s going to happen to the unidentified man? The residents who lost their homes?

Psychic Timea’s Verdict:

Four of Pentacles:
Greed and being too material can cause you to lose everything – just like in this case. Nothing seems to have value, apart from money (hence the burning of books, too).

Five of Cups:
It will be difficult to deal with the loss. Both for the man who ‘accidentally caused the fire’, and the residents whose homes were destroyed. A lesson was learned however and prevention will be more than crucial for the future.

Six of Pentacles:
The message is clear: everyone should be thankful for what they have. The man realised his mistake and he will work together with others to restore order. He is very humbled by the experience and has taken on a more generous attitude.
Remember, sometimes negative events can trigger a life-changing attitude. We can all learn from our own mistakes.