PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — Two men were arrested Sunday in connection with the Oak Fire, the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office said.
Sergio Alaniz Jr., 40, and Ross Heirigs, 60, were arrested on multiple counts of fourth-degree arson. They're accused of an illegal burn that sparked the Oak Fire.
Firefighters originally reported the Oak Fire was a structure fire. The Archuleta County Sheriff's Office now said, the Oak Fire spread from a burn barrel in a subdivision off Oak Drive in Aspen Springs, in violation of open burning regulations for unincorporated areas of the county. The Oak Fire started at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, August 10 and quickly spread throughout the subdivision, extending a half mile into a neighboring subdivision.
Firefighters were able to contain the wildfire at 75 acres th