COSTILLA COUNTY, COLORADO — A 52-year-old man was arrested on arson charges linked to the Spring Fire, a blaze in southern Colorado that has burned more than 41,000 acres of land and is still 0% contained, the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jesper Joergensen was arrested without incident by Costilla County deputies on Saturday on arson charges linked to the Spring Fire, the sheriff’s office said.
Joergensen is not a US citizen and will remain in detention until he has put up bond or has completed all judicial processes, after which he will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. CNN was unable to find a contact for Joergensen or an attorney.
The Spring Fire ignited on June 27 about 5 miles east of Fort Garland, Colorado, according to fire information site Inciweb. The fire has forced evacuations of almost 600 homes in Costilla County and about 1,500 homes in Huerfano County, Inciweb said. A total of 480 assigned firefighters and support personnel have worked to contain it.
Matt Booth told CNN affiliate KCNC that their family’s historic summer home in La Veta, Colorado had been reduced to rubble in the fire.
“Complete annihilation. Just total devastation beyond anything I thought there would be,” Booth said.
“Before it was all wooded and when you looked around, you could see the forest. Now you can just look through as far as you can see because there’s nothing left,” he added.
