Two 15-year-old boys will be charged with first-degree arson in last month’s fire at North Table Mountain near Golden that burned within feet of homes and destroyed a barn.
One resident said she hopes the teens, who will be charged as juveniles, see the scorched mountain and realize the damage they have done.
“They really need to be responsible for (their) actions, instead of just walking away from it,” Penny Coleman said Thursday.
If convicted, the teens could receive a maximum sentence of two years in a juvenile corrections facility. They also face a fourth-degree arson charge and a charge of violating county fire restrictions. A teenage girl who was with the boys when the fire started was not charged.
Investigators said the fire started July 22 when the teens hiked up the side of North Table Mountain and set off fireworks and Roman candles, which are illegal. High winds and extremely dry conditions fueled the blaze, which burned 207 acres and threatened dozens of homes. Several residents chose to evacuate, although it was not mandatory.
“The nature of the charges speak for themselves as very serious,” Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said Thursday at a news conference.
He called playing with fireworks on the mountain a “stupid act” and said many houses were threatened as a result.
“We’re talking life and property,” he said.
Storey added that both teens were cooperative and remorseful when being interviewed.
The families of the teens could be forced to pay for the costs of fighting the fire, which probably will exceed $100,000, said Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink.
More than 100 firefighters from 10 districts and two air tankers battled the blaze.
A wooden barn and a tin shed were destroyed.
Coleman’s husband, Dave, found the teens as he was returning home and detained them until authorities arrived.
Despite the serious nature of the charges, Penny Coleman said the fire was an unfortunate case of “kids being kids.”
“I don’t think any of us can say we’ve never been in a situation where it could have blown up in our face and been a disaster,” she said.
Deer, foxes and rabbits have lost much of their habitat and have been eating Coleman’s flowers and shrubs, she said.
“I still see animals come through my yard with singed hair,” she said.
Staff writer Abbe Smith can be reached at 303-820-1201 or at asmith@denverpost.com.
