[sigallery id=”f9ZhAQsPTSdmtjMpb4HSxm” title=”Stone Hut” type=”sigallery”]
Never leave a fire unattended is the first rule when starting fires.
Unfortunately, the sons of Burton Snowboards co-owners, Jake and Donna Carpenter broke that rule on Christmas Eve this past year and their mistake has resulted in anger, destruction, and sadness. That anger comes on the heels of a Stowe Reporter story published earlier this week, which revealed the direct involvement of the Carpenter’s sons in the blaze that claimed the 80-year old structure near Stowe, VT.
Jake’s son’s George (24) and his younger brother Timothy (19) had gone up on December 23rd to prepare the hut for friends who they thought would be spending the night. While preparing the hut, they lit a fire– a big one and before leaving, decided to leave the fire unattended so their guests could arrive to a warm, and fire ready hut.
Turns Out… That was a bad idea.
The friends never showed up and a wet log they had played close to the fire eventually ignited and the fire spread to the corners of the cabin, engulfing the historic, state-owned structure in a blaze of fiery destruction.
Since the incident, the identities of those responsible have remained a mystery to the public. That is until the Stowe Reporter put the Carpenter sons front and center in their article, “Stone Hut fire traced; Donations pour in.” Since its publication, an outpouring of public opinion has grown against the Carpenter family for their son’s irresponsible neglect of simple wilderness etiquette.
However, in order to make things right, the Carpenter family has banded together to rebuild the Stone Hut completely reports vtskiandride.com.
Over the phone, Mrs. Carpenter told vtskiandride.com that the boys are not who many believe them to be. “These are not some spoiled kids who were negligent: They made a mistake, but they owned it and went to the police on their own,” said the co-owner and CEO of Burton Snowboards.
The First Signature Burton Snowboard Was The “Stone Hut” Model
Still, many are wondering why some of Stowe’s biggest pillars of the community refused to take public responsibility for the fire. In the phone interview, Donna Carpenter told Lisa Lynn from vtskiandride that they did not go to the Stowe Reporter before because the paper had“not been especially kind to us” to which she added “so it is not a paper I respond to.”
However, while estimates on properly rebuilding the Stone Hut have gone as high as $100,000, The Carpenters are happy to chip in. How much– the whole $100,000 if that’s what it costs.
Donna commented on their future involvement saying, “We love Vermont, we loved the Stone Hut so much and we’ve always intended to give whatever it takes to rebuild.”
*Quotes courtesy of Lisa Lynn at vtskiandride.com
