A brief wildfire that occurred west of Colorado’s Clear Creek Reservoir along County Road 390 appears to have been attempted arson as accelerants, likely gasoline, were discovered in the area.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office received an alert to the attempted arson on June 14th, 2026, in an area of unposted private property that’s heavily bordered by Pike-San Isabel National Forest land. National Forest Service firefighters found multiple burnt trees in the area while performing routine patrol, though the fire was no longer active.
They reached out to the Chaffee County Fire Department, as the incident occurred on private property, who then reached out to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s detective’s bureau.
Based on the Detective’s initial investigation, it appeared that someone had attempted to purposely start a forest fire. An accelerant, potentially gasoline, was poured on and near two separate trees. A third tree had a clear plastic beverage container suspended from a limb, and a large amount of accelerant was located inside the container. Fortunately the fire burned itself out before reaching the bottle.
“We are asking the community and our visitors to please be vigilant while enjoying our back country. If you see suspicious activity/ person(s) please do your best to document license plates, pictures, etc. without placing yourself in danger and notify law enforcement. This is behavior we obviously have zero tolerance for and we will use all resources available to us to protect life and property. To whomever is responsible, rethink your motives and please consider all the innocence you are placing in danger.” – Sheriff Andy Rohrich
The incident is currently under investigation, and detectives are working with other law enforcement partners to identify a possible suspect. Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to call the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center at 719-539-2596. Ask to speak with a detective.