WENATCHEE — Citing an ongoing investigation, Chelan County prosecutors aren’t filing charges against the 16-year-old Quincy teenager arrested in connection with the Balsam Root Fire in Wenatchee.
The fire was ignited by fireworks in the early morning after the Fourth of July in the Horse Lake Reserve and burned 305 acres. Firefighters protected nearly 200 homes that were threatened by the fire. None were destroyed.
The teen was arrested at 3:45 a.m. July 5 on suspicion of second-degree reckless burning and resisting arrest, but prosecutors later asked Chelan County Court Commissioner Tracy Brandt to only find probable cause for resisting arrest, according to court documents.
On Tuesday, however, prosecutors told the court that the investigation was ongoing and asked the case be dismissed without prejudice.
