You would think after the whole Richard Jewell situation that people would learn not to jump to conclusions. However, some hikers felt the heat in more ways than one. They were falsly blamed for starting a LA wildfire.
At the time, the hikers had been meditating above Pacific Palisades. They were one of the first people to spot the wildfire in its infancy because it became the monster blaze that raged through the city. However, some people have accused them of starting the blaze themselves. A video of them went viral. In the video, the group of four went running for safety as flames sprouted around them.
However, some found the video suspicious.
"I've been feeling a mix of emotions. It's definitely kind of infuriating that people are blaming us," hiker Ben Oren the Los Angeles Times. "Also it's scary. Just knowing as a matter of fact of our experience that we didn't do it but then seeing the amount of people that have different theories is overwhelming."
Hikers Break Silence About Wildfire
He continued, "We actually almost died and it was fairly traumatic. Going through that and then have people try to blame us pretty ruthlessly. It sucks."
According to Oren, the hikers had been meditating when the smell of fire alerted them to the blaze. Upon opening their eyes, they saw the wildfire threatening the mountain. The flames had reached up to 10 feet in the air. Unfortunately, they ended up having to run towards the fire in order to get back to the main trail.
"Once we ran out of there and made it down past Skull Rock we felt we had dodged death," he added. "It was a thrilling experience making it out close like that."
According to Oren, after the video went viral, several people began to accuse them of actually starting the wildfire. Even Rob Schneider got in on the accusations. He wrote, "Investigate these kids who were right near the fires starting point... PLEASE HELP IDENTIFY."
It got so bad the hiker deleted his social media.
"I literally grew up in Malibu. Why would I start this fire?" he said. "If we did it, why would we post it? It really doesn't line up once you know all the details."
