A court filing involving the two people accused of starting the Lake Christine Fire in July says that witnesses from energy companies and federal agencies may testify that the blaze’s costs exceeded $25 million.
In what is shaping up to be a complex legal saga, prosecutors in February filed a motion to join the cases of Richard Miller and Allison Marcus, who are charged with three felony counts of arson, and have a single trial.
The majority of the amount is $20 million that the filing attributes to the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to fight the fire, which burned three homes and 12,500 acres, forced the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people and 925 homes, and nearly overwhelmed three midvalley communities.
Stan Garnett, the Denver lawyer representing Marcus, is opposing the joinder motion; Miller’s attorney had not, as of Thursday, filed a similar opposition motion.