Influencer started ‘illegal fire’ on Australia island, rangers say. She’s fined
A social media influencer visited a protected island off the eastern coast of Australia, filmed herself starting an “illegal” campfire and posted the video, environmental officials said. Now, she’s been fined and warned.
The woman lit “an illegal fire” while visiting K’gari Island, a “World Heritage environment” site formerly known as Fraser Island, Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said in a Nov. 10 news release.
After the woman posted footage of the incident, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers received reports from “a number of members of the public,” Chad Hoult, a senior ranger, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Fires on K’gari are strictly prohibited unless they are lit in QPWS-provided fire rings … when a fire ban is not in place,” the department said in the release.
“Illegal fires can quickly become bushfires that impact the island’s natural and cultural values and put lives at risk,” Hoult said in the release. “We are lucky this wasn’t the case with this fire.”
Officials said they fined the influencer 834 AUD (about $544) over the fire and issued her “a warning for using a drone to record video above a camping area, where the use of drones is restricted.”
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and News.com.au identified the influencer as Bridget Crosato, host of the YouTube channel Red Dirt Diary, a page dedicated to offroading and outdoor content.
Crosato and Red Dirt Diary did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment.
The Brisbane Times reported that the campfire on K’gari Island appeared in an Oct. 13 YouTube video titled “Her first 4wd on Fraser Island (K’gari).”
The original video appears to have been taken down, but an Oct. 13 post referencing the video remained up on Red Dirt Diary’s Instagram as of Nov. 13.
In 2020, K’gari Island was decimated by a bushfire that environmental officials linked to “a poorly extinguished and illegal campfire,” per a news release from the department soon after the incident.
Environmental officials asked visitors to K’gari Island to respect fire safety rules and not to treat social media influencers as “an official source of information when it comes to K’gari’s regulations.”
“Disregarding these rules poses a serious threat to K’gari’s delicate environment, unique wildlife, and rich cultural heritage,” Hoult said in the release.
K’gari Island is off the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, and a roughly 800-mile drive northeast from Sydney.
