Jefferson County Sheriff’s investigators are recommending charges against five suspects in the Plainview fire, which burned 2,700 acres near Rocky Flats and threatened dozens of homes.
Three suspects were identified Wednesday by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Two others were unnamed because they are 17.
Jonathan Northhaft, 19, of Westminster; Brandon Busby, 18, of Northglenn; and Joshua Greenberg, 18, of Federal Heights each faces a possible felony charge stemming from the wind-whipped January fire that forced hundreds of residents to evacuate overnight.
The teens were at an empty cabin and used charred sticks to write their names on the tin walls of the building, said Jim Shires, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Embers from the sticks fell in grass and sparked the fire.
“There are going to be charges filed, absolutely,” he said.
Sheriff’s investigators will recommend charges of felony arson; misdemeanor firing woods and prairies; misdemeanor defacing property; and petty offense trespass.
The fire started about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 and burned throughout the night. Flames 40 feet high charred pine trees and consumed grassland.
A water pumphouse burned down and the fired burned right up to the corner of one home and singed a propane tank.
No one was seriously injured.
More than 200 firefighters from 26 agencies fought the blaze at a cost of about $187,000, Shires said.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
