Colorado authorities have arrested a man accused of intentionally setting a wildfire along a mountain highway west of Denver, an incident that was caught partly on deputies’ body-worn cameras as they raced to contain the flames.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded around 4:46pm on June 29th to reports of a man setting fire to brush near mile marker 16 on State Highway 74, a mountain road in the foothills southwest of Denver. Multiple witnesses called 911 after seeing a man standing over a fire on the south side of the highway.
Deputies arrived to find an active wildfire burning in a ravine and quickly located a suspect matching witnesses’ descriptions, detaining him without incident. One deputy used a fire extinguisher to slow the fire’s spread until fire crews arrived and fully extinguished it. Investigators later recovered a lighter near where the fire started.
The suspect was identified as 25 year old Royce Ben Jameson of New Mexico. He faces charges of Firing Woods or Prairie, a felony, and third degree criminal trespass, a petty offense. Jameson is being held at the Jefferson County Detention Center on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. As with all criminal cases, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Officials said the fire, which broke out on a steep hillside, posed a fast-moving threat before crews from Genesee Fire and Foothills Fire joined deputies and the sheriff’s Wildland Fire Management Team to bring it under control.
The sheriff’s office credited quick reporting from nearby residents and the rapid response from deputies and fire personnel with preventing the fire from spreading further, a critical outcome as much of the West faces elevated wildfire danger this summer amid ongoing drought conditions.