Letter from Colorado Springs resident urges Waldo Canyon Fire culprit to come forward

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- June marks the 14th anniversary of the Waldo Canyon Fire, a human-caused blaze that burned more than 18,000 acres, killed two people and destroyed nearly 350 homes.

To date, no one has been arrested in connection with the fire, prompting local resident Jim Rottenborn to write a public letter asking the person responsible to turn themselves in.

Mr. Rottenborn, a high school Spanish teacher whose home was among those destroyed in the Waldo Canyon Fire, penned the letter not to accuse, but to offer a path forward for the individual. The letter's initial sentence directly stated, “To the person who started the Waldo Canyon fire. Please turn yourself in.”

Rottenborn and his family were out of town when the fire consumed their home, but they have since rebuilt on the original property. He reflected on the burden carried by the person who started the fire.

“I have moved on,” Mr. Rottenborn said. “I was thinking of the person who set it. And I thought, this thing has got to be eating your lunch. You've got to be thinking about it all the time. You've got to be afraid that at some point, the police are going to come knock on your door and say, hey, you're under arrest. They're constantly just suffering the guilt. And I said, okay, enough. It's time for you to step forward on what you did.”

Mr. Rottenborn attributes his personal growth as a father, husband and person to the overwhelming community support he received after the fire. He believes that the community's spirit of healing extends to the individual responsible.

“Colorado Springs was founded as a place to help people heal,” Mr. Rottenborn said. “That's our history. That's our culture here. And I think that's what we're offering to this person, is let us help you get right, because the community helped us get back on our feet.”

Despite the legal ramifications, Mr. Rottenborn expressed a belief that the person could find peace by coming forward. “I have a sense it might not be as bad as they think it will be. They'll find a lot of grace,” Mr. Rottenborn said.

The Colorado Springs Police Department informed KRDO13 that the investigation into the Waldo Canyon Fire remains ongoing. Currently, the department does not have any suspects.

Mr. Rottenborn's letter reads:

To the person who started the Waldo Canyon fire:

Please turn yourself in. Call the Colorado Springs Police Department right now at (719) 444–7000. Tell the truth about what you did. Then ask all the people you hurt to forgive you. Talk to these people. You will find grace and forgiveness. A heavy weight will be lifted from you. Spend the rest of your life making up for the mistake you made. You might find something else in the process: friendship.

You took so much from so many people. Two people died because of the fire you started. Many more people died in the months after the fire because of the stress, shock and grief related to it. You took valuable things from so many people. This includes the only recording my wife had of her dad’s voice. You took Hospital Bear—my daughter’s favorite stuffed animal. So many of the valuable things you took can seem like nothing, but they were important and valuable.

You have the chance to give something valuable back to us. Tell us your story—how you started the fire, how you felt as it spread, what the fire has taken from you. Give us details about this thing that caused us so much pain.

The community stepped up in so many ways to help us recover. I’m a better man, a better dad and a better member of the Colorado Springs community because of the many ways family and friends loved me and my family as we recovered from the fire. Dozens and dozens and dozens of strangers blessed us tremendously. We have a much better home today than we had on the morning of June 26, 2012. Thank you, sincerely.

I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to holler at you or lash out at you. It’s time for all of us to put this behind us—you, me and everyone else. Would you please take a risk and turn yourself in? You have power here. Please use it wisely.

To everyone who was affected by the Waldo Canyon fire, please pray for the person who started it. Forgive him in your heart right now.

I have something else to say to you, and this is harder: Have you ever done something that hurt someone? Would you please confess this to them, ask them to forgive you and do whatever you can to set it right? Write your own letter to the people who hurt you or the person you hurt. Doing this could help you forgive and even bless the person who started the Waldo Canyon fire. Our country and our world need us to admit what we’ve done wrong, receive forgiveness and act to set things right.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.