Man’s deep remorse for lighting fire which led to Fraser Island inferno

One of the men charged with lighting an illegal campfire that morphed into a massive blaze on Fraser Island has revealed what happened in court.

A man charged with lighting an illegal campfire that morphed into an out of control bushfire on Fraser Island has told a court he never meant to harm the environment.

Liam Gregory Cheshire, Dominic Glynn Mcgahan, Travis Robert Lowe and Lachlan James Brown were all charged with illegally lighting a campfire in October last year.

The campfire quickly morphed into a massive blaze, which consumed nearly 50 per cent of the heritage-listed K’Gari (Fraser Island) over the ensuing weeks.

The illegal campfire sparked a wildfire that consumed nearly 50 per cent of the heritage-listed K’Gari over seven weeks. Four men have been charged over lighting the initial campfire.

A teenager, who was with the four men at the time, has been dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.

Lowe and Brown’s matters were briefly mentioned at Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Brown pleaded guilty to unlawfully lighting a fire through a legal representative. His matter was adjourned to Monday.

Lowe did not appear in court but wrote a letter confirming his guilty plea and expressing his remorse for his involvement.

He told Magistrate Stephen Guttridge he was “extremely sorry” for his involvement and sincerely believed the fire had been extinguished.

Travis Robert Lowe and Lachlan James Brown had their matters mentioned at Hervey Bay Magistrates Court (pictured) on Thursday, where both pleaded guilty to unlawfully lighting a fire.

In the letter, Lowe said he loved camping and never meant to harm the environment.

Magistrate Gutteridge fined him $667 with no conviction recorded.

The four men were charged after a joint investigation between Queensland Police and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

The illegal campfire was lit on October 14 last year around the Duling Camp Zone of Eastern Beach, north of Orange Creek, but was not properly extinguished.

Hot embers set the vegetation alight to the northwest of the camp site.

A picture of the Happy Valley community on Fraser Island, where they have stayed to fight the fire. Most are members of the local Rural Fire Brigade. Picture: Supplied

The blaze consumed 87,000 hectares of land over seven weeks and put campers, homes and residents in danger as firefighters struggled to contain the blaze.

Cheshire and Mcgahan had appeared in court last month over their involvement in lighting the campfire, the Fraser Coast Chronicle reports.

Both pleaded guilty to unlawfully lighting a fire but Cheshire also pleaded guilty to a single charge of leaving a fire unattended.

Cheshire wrote to the court to express his remorse, saying he was “embarrassed” for his actions.

Mcgahan and Cheshire were fined $667 and $1334 respectively. No convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Man’s deep remorse for lighting fire which led to Fraser Island inferno