COSTILLA COUNTY, Colo. — A prosecutor says criminal charges will probably be dropped against a mentally ill Danish man accused of starting a large 2018 Colorado wildfire.
District Attorney Alonzo Payne didn't elaborate about his reasoning during a court hearing for Jesper Joergensen on Monday. But Payne's comments come two months after a judge said Joergensen could no longer be forcibly medicated. Payne suggested that he would like Joergensen to be deported.
Joergensen was in the U.S. illegally when he was charged with starting the fire that destroyed over 140 homes in southern Colorado.
The Spring Fire erupted on June 27, 2018 near the Costilla and Huerfano county line. The fire burned for weeks and torched more than 108,000 acres. Multiple communities were evacuated in the wake of the fast-moving fire, and a portion of Highway 160 was closed for days.
According to an arrest affidavit, Jorgensen said he used a fire pit to cook meat for several hours that night and then covered the pit to smother the fire. He told investigators he stirred the contents around to make sure it was out and "he saw no smoke, so he believed the fire was out and no longer a threat" according to the affidavit.
Investigators asked Jorgensen if he poured water on the fire. He said "no," according to the report.
On June 27, 2018, Jorgensen said he woke up from a nap around noon and smelled fire. He got out of his camper and saw the fire was in sage bushes about 20 feet away from his fire pit.
Jorgensen ran toward the fire and attempted to smother it with a blanket, according to the affidavit. When that blanket caught fire, Jorgensen threw it in the fire, the affidavit said.
He reported the fire, and when contacted by deputies from the Costilla County Sheriff's office, Jorgensen had burn injuries on his right arm and calf, according to the report. There was also a burn mark on his chest.
Prior 9NEWS reporting was used in this article.
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