Friday, March 28: Saguache County Deputy Tristan VanZalinge reported that 7 brush and grass fires were set this morning in Saguache County. The fire call went out at appx. 12:30 am when a person called the Sheriff’s office for a “suspicious person and possible fire”. The fires were set along Highway 17 ranging from County Road T near Moffat to Villa Grove—about one fire every 2 miles said Deputy VanZalinge. There were no structure fires, but a large haystack on AA Road west of Highway 17 was reported and was the biggest of the fires and was still being worked on at 10 am., while other fires were either extinguished or being mopped up. One of the fires along County Road T set a utility pole on fire which caused a morning power outage in the Town of Saguache. The amount of acreage burned is not known at this time. The Moffat, Saguache, Villa Grove, Crestone and Baca Grande Fire Departments all responded to the fires. A person suspected of starting the fires has been taken into questioning.
