Isn't snopes run by an aging flabby hippie couple who sit on an ugly couch while they write these things? I'm pretty sure I saw their picture. While they were 'at work'.
I saw a guy get pissed at a parking meter because, "I put in 25 cents and it only gave me 15 minutes! I paid for a quarter of an hour and didn't get it!"
Yes, I am sure this has happened before in Australia's history. Notice how quickly the forest around Mt St Helens recovered. Nature is pretty resilient if left alone to recover.
Why Snopes still has any credibility is beyond me. This article from Queensland, dated Dec 20th, reports 98 already arrested for arson, with more than 120 fires still being investigated:
"Almost 100 firebugs have deliberately started blazes across Queensland that have destroyed homes and consumed thousands of hectares of bushland.
Some 65 fires continued to burn across the state on Friday, jumping from 55 reported on Thursday, as the fire threat deepened heading into the weekend.
As firefighters remained on high alert, police revealed 103 of the destructive fires that had lashed Queensland since September were deliberately lit.
Figures obtained by AAP revealed police had dealt with 98 people - 31 adults and 67 juveniles - for deliberately setting fires.
More than 120 fires are still being investigated and more people could be charged."
Except, it's true. 183 were indeed arrested.
And 24 for deliberate arson is quite a number.