Three people have been arrested for allegedly starting a Colorado wildfire by leaving an unauthorized campfire unattended.
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that 23-year-old David Renfrow, 19-year-old Kegan Owens and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in connection with a fire that has destroyed at least eight homes. It’s not clear if they have lawyers yet.
The Chateau Fire in the state’s south-central mountains northeast of Cripple Creek, has burned about 2 square miles (1,280 acres) but all evacuated residents have been allowed to return home.
It’s one of 10 large wildfires in Colorado. The largest, the Spring Creek Fire, has destroyed over 130 homes and is 70 percent contained.
A fire pit that wasn’t completely extinguished is suspected of starting that 170-square-mile (108,800 acres) fire.
Investigators say an illegal campfire sparked the Spring Creek Fire east of Fort Garland on June 27, and it has since become the third-largest in state history. It also forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes.
Jesper Joergensen, a 52-year-old man from Denmark, initially said he had started a fire to burn trash on land where he has been living in a camper. He then said he had been grilling in a permanent fire pit the day before the wildfire started.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say Joergensen has been living in the country illegally.
The fire is 55 percent contained.
Firefighters are dealing with several major wildfires across Colorado.
The Lake Christine Fire outside Basalt has scorched 5,916 acres, and is 21 percent contained. Two people were suspected of starting that fire by using rifle tracer rounds.The Weston Pass Fire burns in 13,019 acres near Fairplay. Containment is 52 percent.The 416 Fire, north of Durango, has scorched 54,129 acres. It is 50 percent contained.The Burro Fire, east of Dolores, has scorched 4,593 acres. It is 50 percent contained.In Utah, authorities are allowing more Utah residents to return home after the wind-fueled Dollar Ridge Fire forced them to flee. the fire has scorched 49,789 acres and is 35 percent contained.
Officials have opened up the burned-out area near a popular fishing lake 80 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, as well as a stretch of highway.
They say the wildfire has destroyed 90 structures, including homes, cabins, sheds and garages, since starting July 1 in the mountains. Authorities believe human activity sparked the blaze, but an exact cause hasn’t been determined.
In California, firefighters have been able to build containment around several destructive wildfires.
Officials said Sunday that the 48-square-mile (30,720 acres) blaze on the California-Oregon border known as the Klamathon fire is now 25 percent contained. It’s one of many fires burning around the drought-ridden states in the West. The fire killed one woman in her home and destroyed 72 structures, including homes.Crews have built at least 80 percent containment on a wildfire that destroyed 20 homes in Santa Barbara County and a central San Diego County fire that burned 18 structures.The state’s largest blaze, the 141-square-mile (90,288 acres) County Fire, is 73 percent contained. It has destroyed 10 structures since it broke out June 30.Other major fires in the state are close to being fully contained.