So they can prove that this was one continuous combustion reaction? They can show beyond reasonable doubt that, despite the observations of the fire going out that convinced a team of firefighting professionals that it had stopped, it in fact continued and nothing else ignited a new fire in this location where fires naturally occur?
Were not the LA fire occurring in three different locations at the same time? It could not have been started by the same smoldering ash.Liability would still be on him.
For those reading: this is the difference between proximate cause and actual cause. Yes it's true that but for the fire being started in the first place, the fire would not have rekindled. But once professional firefighters arrive to put out the fire, it's not foreseeable by a normal person that the fire could be rekindled, so that person wouldn't be liable. The harm is too remote. The firefighters may even be grossly negligent because they are professionals, intervened, and the fire rekindled. A person negligently failing to fully extinguish their own fire would lead to liability, though.
You may find the "Thin skull rule" interesting for criminal liability
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).
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.
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.
>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...