Charges filed against 2 out-of-state campers in Cold Springs Fire

The two men accused of accidentally starting the wildfire that has destroyed eight homes in Colorado have been charged with arson.

District Attorney Stan Garnett announced the charges Wednesday at a meeting with residents in Nederland, a mountain town near Boulder.

Investigators say 28-year-old Jimmy Andrew Suggs and 26-year-old Zackary Ryan Kuykendall from Vinemont, Alabama didn’t make sure their campfire on private property was completely out, allowing it to flare up and spread in hot, windy weather on Saturday.

They each face two counts of arson, including one that is a felony carrying a penalty of up to 12 years in prison.

Garnett says there’s no evidence now that a woman camping with them, 20-year-old Elizabeth Blair Burdeshaw, helped build or feed the fire, so she hasn’t been charged directly in the fire. She has been ticketed for trespassing, a misdemeanor.