A man was cited for arson after reports of a fire in an open field in Boulder on Monday, according to a press release from the city of Boulder. Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Boulder Fire-Rescue and officers from the Boulder Police Department responded to reports of smoke by a storage facility in an open space near Yellow Pine Avenue and 10th Street. Crews arrived and were able to quickly extinguish the fire by 2:11 p.m.
No injuries were reported, and no evacuation orders were required, according to the release. The fire started in the field, but moved to the back end of the storage facility, causing minor damage.
Boulder police said that they issued a ticket to Jeffrey Guggenmos, 51, a ticket for fourth-degree arson. “Fourth degree arson, C.R.S. 18-4-105, is charged in Brighton, Adams County and everywhere else in Colorado whenever a person knowingly or recklessly starts or maintains a fire or causes an explosion, on his own property or that of another, and by so doing places another in danger of death or serious bodily injury or places any building or occupied structure of another in danger of damage,” said Sawyer Legal Group.
Fourth-degree arson can be a petty offense, misdemeanor or felony in Colorado, depending on circumstances like property value, or if a person was endangered due to a fire or explosion. The city of Boulder offered its thanks to Boulder Rural Fire Rescue and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in quickly extinguishing the fire.
