Burning heart on the beach: Video goes viral for the wrong reasons

Wanting to make a romantic gesture to his girlfriend, he lit a heart-shaped bonfire on a beach on Vancouver Island, sparking outrage among netizens in this bushfire-affected area.

In a video shared on TikTok, the man is seen setting fire to a heart made of paper towels soaked in petrol on a beach in Tofino.

Describing the video, which has since been deleted, Ashley Smith said, “He said he wanted to do something nice to show me how much he loved me and he did.”

Video of the scene quickly went viral, but not for the reasons expected. In fact, you should know that British Columbia is a prey to many wildfires and Vancouver Island is under a fire ban.

Thus, this gesture offended many residents of the region. “I was freaked out,” Tofino’s Marcy Calewert told Global News. The latter believes that influencers bear a share of responsibility when people imitate them in this type of situation.

In a second video, the influencer was responding to someone asking how the couple broke free from the flames that surrounded them. The man is then seen panicking due to the large cloud of smoke and throwing sand on the fire to put it out.

This is a gesture most frowned upon by Hannah Terrant, who denounced the gesture on Tiktok.

“The crazy thing is, I know they knew what they were doing was wrong because he immediately tried to put it out because of the black smoke,” she said on the social network. She also fears that the couple will leave paper towels soaked in gasoline on the beach.

Viral for the wrong reasons, she keeps a low profile

However, Ashley Smith initially seemed happy to see her video went viral. A million viral on TikTok. You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this to happen. And I have a journalist call me who wants [faire un article sur] my video. [Merci] To my friend for the best idea ever,” she wrote on Facebook before making her accounts private, according to photos shared on X (Twitter).

When she realized how many hateful and angry comments she was receiving, the woman decided to make her accounts private. She would even change her name on these social networks to be discreet.

On the part of the local authorities, this incident is a reminder to pay attention to the restrictions in place in the area.

“Right now, even a campfire is dangerous. Fireworks, tiki torches, any type of bonfire, and especially anything that has the potential to send sparks or embers into other combustibles, are extremely dangerous,” said Gordon Robinson, information officer. The BC Wildfire Service told Global News, “There’s really no reason to do something like this right now.”