Troopers identify juvenile suspects in school fire

ANCHORAGE (AP) Alaska State Troopers have identified three boys they say were responsible for the recycling bin fire at Goose Bay Elementary last Saturday.

The boys, ages 8, 11 and 12, were throwing lighted matches into the wooden recycling bin when newspapers inside caught fire. The boys got scared and ran home, troopers said.

The fire destroyed a wooden shed that housed the recycling bin, valued by the school at about $2,500.

A woman called troopers Monday and identified the boys. The troopers referred misdemeanor charges of criminally negligent burning to Mat-Su Juvenile Intake for review.

Investigators said they do not believe the fire was related to two other area school fires over the weekend. Authorities initially estimated that one fire Sunday caused $125,000 damage to portable classrooms at Pioneer Peak Elementary School in Palmer. But school district officials said they haven't calculated the damages.