Following a two-day trial a juvenile charged with starting the Weber Fire six miles southwest of Mancos, Colorado in June, 2012 has been sentenced. Few details were provided by the U.S. Attorney’s news release, but reportedly the juvenile apologized for the acts of delinquency and to those who were damaged by the fire. The court is in the process of determining an amount of restitution. The fire burned 10,133 acres.
Ryan Handy reported in the Colorado Springs Gazette that recently officials discovered at least seven smoldering coal fires this spring that they believe were ignited by the Weber fire. Four are coal-refuse piles and three are natural coal seams that have apparently been burning for almost a year. As we have reported previously, coal seam fires can be a challenge to suppress, since much of the burning coal is underground.
Thanks go out to Ryan