12-year-old intentionally set brush fire, fire marshal says

Small blaze in Mendenhall Valley resulted in no structure damage, no injuries

A 12-year-old boy intentionally set a brush fire in the Mendenhall Valley on Wednesday, according to a statement from Capital City Fire/Rescue.

At about 4 p.m., CCFR and U.S. Forest Service personnel went to Kanata Street after receiving the report of a brush fire, according to the statement. When they arrived, responders saw smoke and a small fire in the brush and moss near a hiking trail. No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported, according to CCFR’s statement.

Fire marshals say that CCFR and the Juneau Police Department worked together to investigate the small blaze. CCFR Fire Marshal Dan Jager said Thursday that they found out the fire was started by a 12-year-old boy. JPD and CCFR personnel tracked down the boy, the fire marshal said, and he confessed to starting the fire.

Criminal charges were forwarded to the Johnson Youth Center, according to CCFR.