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Authorities charge 11-year-old girl in series of set fires An 11-year-old girl was arrested by sheriff�s deputies Wednesday and charged with a dozen counts of arson. The 11 blazes in the Prospect area, which occurred from mid-July through August, didn�t do any damage and were confined to grass and brush. "They were all quite small and many of them local residents put out before (Oregon Department of Forestry) got there," said Dan Thorpe, ODF Medford unit forester. But despite their small size � most were no bigger than 15-feet-by-15, Thorpe said � the fires were treated as big problems, once authorities realized the suspicious circumstances. The Prospect girl was charged with 11 counts of first-degree arson and one count of attempted first-degree arson � all felonies. She was lodged at the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center Wednesday. No one else was involved in starting the blazes, according to Sgt. Dick Allen of the sheriff�s department. The girl became the suspect after a deputy talked to her at the scene of one fire and a bicycle tread matching her tracks was found at others, Allen said. She admitted to deputies she started 12 blazes, one of which didn�t catch, said Allen. When asked why, Allen said she didn�t give deputies any good reasons. Thorpe said that kids usually start fires as experiments or attention-getters. According to District Attorney Mark Huddleston, even though the arsons are felony charges the cases will be handled in juvenile court. Measure 11, which mandates that juveniles be treated in adult court for certain crimes, does not apply to kids under 15. Arson is not a felony that can be moved to adult court, he said. "As far as disposition goes, it�s really up to the judge," said Huddleston. "This is the kind of case where one might expect a recommendation for MacLaren (Youth Correctional Facility) or one of the other in-custody type facilities." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA