10-year-old won't face charges for setting fire, attorneys say

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- No charges will be brought against a 10-year-old boy accused of accidentally starting an October wildfire that scorched more than 38,000 acres north of Los Angeles, California, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

"There is no evidence of intent on the part of the minor," the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a written statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

"The district attorney's office is referring the matter to the Department of Children and Family Services for evaluation of the minor's situation to determine if other intervention is necessary."

The boy had faced possible charges in juvenile court after admitting to sheriff's deputies that he had started the Buckweed fire by playing with matches, investigators said. The blaze eventually destroyed 21 homes and 42 other structures.

The fire started October 21 in the Agua Dulce community north of Los Angeles.

It was one of nearly two dozen wind-whipped wildfires that swept across southern California in late October, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from homes near Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino and leaving 14 people dead. E-mail to a friend