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Wow, that's a nasty one. I'm inclined to think that punishment should reflect foreseeable consequences and I'm not at all sure that a 10 year old would ever be able to foresee that starting a fire during a dry, windy period could cause a fire like that one. I understand that people are scared and hurt and lost a lot, but, really, fires of that size-no matter what exactly starts them-are kind of along the same lines as a hurricane or an earthquake, in my mind.
The article is pretty vague about what the kid did. I guess I'd see sense in throwing the book at him and his parents if he'd poured gasoline in the backyard and set it ablaze or had done something equally reckless and out of control. If he was just lighting matches or trying to light a small fire or something, I really think it makes no sense. A significant (but not crushing) fine and some serious counseling and some community service would do wonders to making him understand what he did without ruining his (and his parents') lives.
Punishing a person for everything that led to the catastrophic scale of the fires defies the purpose of a justice system which is to punish in line with the severity of the action. Hopefully reason and not revenge will prevail.
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