Jefferson County authorities are looking for the person responsible for two suspicious fires that started almost simultaneously along U.S. 285 Tuesday afternoon.

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Officials are asking residents to call if they saw anything unusual yesterday at about 9 a.m. along the highway.

Highway 285 serves as a main evacuation route from the Hayman fire and for many living in the mountains.

The two suspicious fires started in wooded areas within a mile of each other near the North Turkey Creek Road exit. Both were doused before they could spread.

They did not hurt any residents or damage any property, but as evidenced in the Hayman Fire, one small spot fire could quickly blow up and become an uncontrollable wildfire that can threaten thousands of homes.

"To do something like this is just unbelievable," sheriff's spokesman Jim Shires said.

He said three callers reported seeing a white truck with a white camper shell in the area of the fires.

Inter-Canyon Fire District Fire Marshal Randy Rudloff searched for evidence in the debris of one of the fires, which started in the Homestead subdivision.

"This is a fire that should not have been," he said.

That fire burned an area about 25 feet in diameter a few hundred yards off the highway.

The second fire, in North Turkey Creek Canyon, also was off a side road a few hundred yards off U.S. 285. It was set at the base of a tree and kindling was used to start the fire, Jefferson County officials said.

There was no lightning in the area, and the location was too far from the large fire to have been caused by embers, Rudloff said.

Former Inter-Canyon firefighter Ken Burnside spotted one of the fires as he was driving down the highway. He used a shovel from his trunk and a chainsaw provided by a neighbor to limit the spread of the fire until fire trucks could arrive.

"It was luck that we showed up at the right time," he said.

If you have any information that could be helpful to investigators, you are asked to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department at (303) 277-0211.

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June 11, 2002: Suspect Sets Fires Along Highway 285, Flees