Deputies arrest three linked with campfire

Suspects face arson charges, fines, prison

Deputies from the Teller County Sheriff’s Office arrested three men from Colorado Springs Monday and charged them with arson in connection with the High Chateau fire.

A campfire is thought to be the reason eight families lost their homes and 1,400 acres burned.

David Michael Renfrow, 23, Kegan Patrick Owens, 19, and an unidentified 17year-old male face four to eight years in prison as well as a fine of up to $750,000.

“These arrests underscore the importance of obeying fire bans,” according to a release from the Teller County Sheriff’s Office.

State fire investigators think the High Chateau fire started in the early morning hours of June 29 and quickly spread through the dry landscape outside of Cripple Creek, forcing 1,700 people and 500 animals to evacuate.

According to the arrest affidavits for Owens and Renfrow, the three young men drove to vacant land owned by Owens’ father on June 28 and planned to spend the night.

Owens and Renfrow both told a sheriff’s deputy they knew about a countywide fire ban before they gathered some wood, stacked it inside a ring and lit it on fire.

The three young men reportedly drove home around 11 p.m. rather than spend the night after spotting a bear in the area, according to the affidavit.

Investigators believe that just a few hours later embers from the pit started the High Chateau fire.

The fire, which is 95 percent contained, is one of at least three humancaused fires burning across Colorado.