Colorado Man Responsible for 41,000-Acre Wildfire Arrested

A 52-year-old man has been arrested in Colorado for starting the Spring wildfire, which grew to over 41,000 acres in size on Saturday.

On Saturday, The Costilla County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Facebook that the initial cause of the fire was human-caused. Costilla County deputies arrested Jesper Jorgensen, who is being held on arson charges. Jorgensen’s arrest occurred without incident, but the sheriff’s office did not provide further information about his arrest.

According to a report by KRDO, the Spring fire had grown to 41,292 acres and was still at 0 percent containment despite 275 firefighters from multiple agencies responding.

The investigation was led by Costilla County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), state arson investigators, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Authorities are still continuing to battle the massive wildfire, which began on Wednesday afternoon about five miles east of Fort Garland. Mandatory evacuations are still in place as of Saturday for large portions of Costilla and Huerfano counties. Two evacuation centers were accepting evacuees overnight, and evacuation centers for animals were also set up at the Las Animas County Fairgrounds and the 4-H barn in La Veta.