Two teens have been booked on 2nd degree arson charges in connection with the North Turkey Creek Fire.
Andrew Askins and Riley Costello, both 18, are accused of starting Wednesday's fire by lighting fireworks.
The fire covered seven acres and burned an outbuilding, a storage unit, and two vehicles.
Six fire agencies with 15 fire trucks and 34 firefighters worked diligently for hours to keep the fire from engulfing five homes. Eight residences and several businesses were evacuated. Eleven animals were rescued.
No one was injured and no homes were lost.
There was a fire ban in place when the fire started. It is still in place, which means that the lighting of all fireworks is prohibited.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is using the fire as an opportunity to remind people of the dangers of ignoring fire ban restrictions.
The following restrictions are in effect during the current temporary fire ban for all of Jefferson County:
1. Building, maintaining, attending or using any fire (gas grills are okay; charcoal grills are not)
2. No recreational fires, including recreational campfires
3. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area of at least six feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all combustible material
4. Open burning including “bon fires” that require a permit from the fire authority having jurisdiction
5. The use of all fireworks
6. Shooting tracer rounds or explosive type targets
7. Operating a chain saw without a USDA or SAE approved spark arresting device properly installed and in proper working order, and having a extinguishing source, water, pressurized water extinguisher, or a proper chemical pressurized extinguisher, large enough to handle nearby hazards, and possessing at least one large size pointed shovel with an overall length of at least thirty-six inches. All must be readily available for quick use.
8. Welding and cutting torch appliances shall only be operated within an area that is barren or cleared of all combustible material at least 30 feet in all directions from the operating equipment. This operation may only be done during a declared “Fire Ban” upon receiving a permit from the fire authority having jurisdiction over the operating location.
9. Use of an explosive initiation system requiring a burning fuse line
