Final two men fined for starting fire that scorched Fraser Island
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All four men who left an illegal campfire which started the bushfire that scorched more than half of Fraser Island last year have been fined.
Two of the men had their matters dealt with in January and the remaining two had their cases wrapped up during the past week in the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court.
Scorched vegetation seen near Happy Valley on January 16, 2021.
Credit:Matt Dennien
Last month, Liam Gregory Cheshire, 24, pleaded guilty to unlawfully lighting a fire and leaving a fire unattended and was fined $667 for each offence, with no conviction recorded.
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Subscriber only In a heartfelt letter to the court, a man who lit a campfire that started a blaze that scorched half of Fraser Island said he wished he could undo what he had done. Liam Gregory Cheshire, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful lighting of a fire and leaving a fire unattended. The Warwick man did not appear at Hervey Bay Magistrates Court in person but the charges were dealt with in his absence. Police prosecutor Sonia Edwards said the fire was lit by Cheshire using vegetation and sticks from the surrounding area on October 14 last year.
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Subscriber only Two men who were part of a camping group responsible for sparking a wildfire that scorched half of Fraser Island have pleaded guilty to unlawful lighting of a fire. Travis Robert Lowe and Lachlan James Brown, both from Rosenthal Heights, had their matters mentioned in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Thursday but neither appeared in person. Lowe pleaded guilty and submitted a letter to the court which expressed remorse for his involvement and outlined how he sincerely believed the campfire had been extinguished before the group left the site. In the letter, Lowe wrote that he loved camping and never meant to harm or risk the environment.