Some people don't know how to get a fire going. Sometimes the wood is just so wet, it's really hard to get going even if you know what you are doing.
Last summer, in Door County, WI, all the wood, no matter where you bought it from was wet. It was really hard to make anything but smoke signals. Fortunately most of the times we camped there wasn't anyone around us. It's not that I wanted to make smoke, but that's what happens sometimes. It was similar in the UP when were there in June.
I think the rude part is that he didn't respond or apologize. A decent guy would have apologized and maybe explained he was having trouble or something.