# Source note — Knox Mountain arson sentence

Prepared: 2026-08-11

## Social lead
- User supplied: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BctEBLGU8/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Resolved public URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/betterbc/posts/1579350663917765/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Browser-visible post: BetterBC group repost by Brian Davis; headline/text says “Knox Mountain arsonist gets 21-month prison sentence.”

## Key sources checked
- Castanet sentencing report, story 627621: 21-month sentence; guilty plea to arson damaging property and assault; Judge Andrew Tam sentencing context.
- Castanet guilty-plea report, story 624297: Oct. 24, 2025 incident details, slingshot/camouflage report, dry/windy conditions, fire crew response, court arguments.
- Kelowna Capital News July 2026 report: guilty plea in B.C. Provincial Court and charge context.
- AM1150/RCMP-update report from Oct. 28, 2025: RCMP arrest/update framing for Robert Austin Teal after a series of fires on Knox Mountain.
- CityNews Vancouver Oct. 28, 2025: police arrest after fires on Knox Mountain.
- BC Wildfire Service “What causes wildfire”: human-caused vs arson distinction and professional investigation caution.

## Publication decision
Because this is supported by public police/court/reporting trail, BCFires names Robert Teal. That is different from rumour-only posts where an alleged fire starter is named by Facebook users but not by police/courts.

## Evidence labels
- Official/legal-reporting supported: named person, guilty plea, sentence, arson-damaging-property / assault charges.
- Source-reporting supported: incident details from Castanet, Kelowna Capital News, AM1150/RCMP-update and CityNews.
- Not supported: generalizing this case into a claim that most B.C. wildfires are arson; DEW/MKUltra-style comment theories.