This stunt set tempers ablaze.
The entire point of tuning into any given episode of Who is JOB is to see which crazy, stupid, hilarious or awesome stunt the Hawaiian surfer and his crew have planned. The anticipation typically comes in not knowing which of the four categories it will fall into; crazy, stupid, hilarious or awesome. According to at least a few residents of Tofino, B.C., the most recent episode was none of the above. One long time adventure tourism guide from the area flat out says he’s “disgusted” after seeing one of the episode’s main stunts.
The stunt causing a ruckus involved Jamie O’Brien and his crew set a log on fire in Kennedy Lake and use it as a jib. Plain and simply, a few people aren’t too stoked on the flaming jib part.
“I felt absolutely disgusted,” said Josh Temple of Ocean Outfitters in Tofino B.C. “I see one of our local watersheds on fire. These guys are just pouring gasoline into our local watershed and lighting it on fire for the sake of their video.”
Temple says he filed official complaints about the event with Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as the B.C. Ministry of Environment, apparently demanding an investigation. To that point, the ministry is going to review and decide whether or not to investigate and determine how the log was set on fire.
“To see something like that happen, especially being promoted by such a huge company as Red Bull, with all of their hundreds of thousands plus followers, it’s like a slap in the face to our community and our local wildlife,” Temple said.
It seems the main concern or complaint revolves around keeping the fish here healthy and safe. Local efforts have been made to bring the wildlife population to a standard, while lighting a tree on fire in the middle of the lake doesn’t exactly coincide with those concerns. Red Bull didn’t disclose how the log was lit aflame, but when Temple’s efforts reached organizations like the Conservation Officer Service and B.C.’s Ministry of Environment, the episode was taken down.
“It has now come to our attention that this was done without permission from B.C. Parks,” a spokesperson for Red Bull Media House, Patrice Radden said in a written statement.”This should not have happened and we regret it. We have apologized to B.C. Parks and have taken down this video clip.”
So did the Who Is JOB crew go too far?
