Duke of fire hazard
Sussexes in cig butt peril
MEGHAN and Harry have been warned their mansion is at risk of being set on fire by selfish smokers.
There have been complaints about walkers carelessly discarding cigarettes next to a trail close to the couple’s home in Montecito, California.
It is at “high-risk” from wildfires that have ravaged parts of the US – including the celebrity enclave where they live – in recent years.
Now locals fear the craze for night hiking could spark a fire. A source told the
Sunday People:
“There have been reports about hikers going out on late-night jaunts close to Harry and Meghan’s place.
“It’s a possible threat to them and the children, not least because there have also been claims hikers have been smoking and tossing their cigarettes on the ground.
“Any fire there could easily get out of control.”
Highlighting the problem, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s neighbour Bruce Savin wrote to the Montecito Journal: “Last Saturday night, we saw dozens of hikers with flashlights at 9.30pm. In disbelief we watched a hiker
take a puff off his cigarette before extinguishing it under his foot.
“Night hiking is dangerous enough but in a high-risk fire area it is an absolute threat to us all.”
In November 2008 a wildfire, known as the Montecito Tea Fire, destroyed 210 homes in Montecito and Santa Barbara, including one owned by actor Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc Brown in Back to the Future.
Investigators found 10 college students had held an illegal bonfire party at an abandoned tea house – but failed to put the fire out properly.
Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, live with their children Archie, two, and Lilibet, 10 months, in the neighbourhood, also home to A-listers Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom.
Earlier this year we revealed they are not “over the moon” with their £11million property, which they moved to after stepping down as full-time working royals, and are enquiring about other houses.
They have suffered a number of issues, including having to put up with smells from a nearby bird refuge and a cannabis farm.
They were also ordered to boost the security of their chicken coop after a bear tried to attack a neighbour’s coop and four black bears were seen brawling near their home.