Park County authorities on Friday declared the 1,559-acre 403 fire that started on private land southwest of Florissant fully contained, but with hotspots inside the blackened burn zone still kicking up smoke.
U.S. Forest Service officials called in to suppress the fire were turning over control to local crews, and firefighters will continue to patrol the burn zone, the authorities said in a Twitter post.
Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw announced on Thursday that he will file criminal charges “to the fullest extent of the law.” The fire began March 30 behind a home southwest of Florissant and the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.
“This fire was preventable,” McGraw said, warning residents to use caution when dealing with flames, ashes and other sources of heat that could ignite dry grass.
