By Jesse Paul | jpaul@denverpost.com
UPDATED: October 21, 2016 at 11:26 pm
Prosecutors announced on Friday that arson charges have been filed against a child in connection with the massive Beaver Creek fire near Walden in Colorado.
The Eighth Judicial District Attorney’s Office says the accusations were filed on Oct. 4. The child’s name, age and gender were not released and authorities declined to release further information in the case.
The fire, which was reportedly still smoldering earlier this week, burned more than 38,000 acres, destroying one home and 16 other structures. It spread into Wyoming and prompted hundreds of firefighters to be summoned to fight the burn.
The fire was ignited on June 19 and consumed land managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Forestry Division and Colorado.
“The investigating authorities are continuing to conduct follow-up interviews and finalize reports,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release. “… Due to the suspect’s age, the District Attorney’s Office will not be issuing any further information pertaining to this case.”
The Beaver Creek fire stood apart from other wildfires and was so difficult to harness because of its 38,000-plus acres of mostly beetle-kill timber, a volatile fuel that forces firefighters to rethink the way they can safely approach such large burns. The U.S. Forest Service hopes the fire provides a blueprint for how to fight blazes in the millions of acres of forest in Colorado and across the West that have been ravaged by insects.
Authorities had hinted that the fire was human caused, but until Friday had not announced any arrests or further details in the case.