Man trying to cremate dog sparks 7,000-acre wildfire and flees, Colorado officials say

A man was trying to cremate his dog when he accidentally started a wildfire in Colorado, sheriff’s officials said.

The Bucktail fire burned through more than 7,000 acres of private and national forest land and destroyed a cabin in a southwestern mountain town the first week of August, the Denver Post reported.

Now, the 63-year-old man faces felony trespassing and arson charges, the outlet reported.

Town officials in Nucla ordered the man to euthanize his dog , Rocket, after it got into a fight with another dog earlier in the summer, Colorado Public Radio reported.

The man had tried to have a remembrance ceremony for Rocket near the camper where he lived on public land, but it went awry, the station reported.

According to an arrest affidavit, a Montrose County Sheriff’s Office commander saw the man driving away from the fire on an ATV when the commander responded to the flames Aug. 1, the Montrose Press reported.

The commander traced the fire to a “dugout area,” where the investigators found the dog’s partially burned body as well as a flat rock with “Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace, Buddy” etched into it, along with dates inscribed that suggest the dog’s birth and death, the outlet reported.

A bone was glued to the rock beneath the words, the Denver Post reported.

During the investigation, a witness told authorities the man had showed up at the witness’ home the day of the fire and seemed distraught, the Montrose Press reported. The witness said the man told him he had put his dog in a pit with wood and then threw a “fly spray can” in, which blew out of the pit and set fire to a nearby tree.

The man wasn’t able to get the fire under control and was “scared,” so he jumped on his four-wheeler and drove off, the outlet reported.

Witnesses also told investigators the man “was really down” about his dog’s death but “did not put the blame anywhere else and knew it was his fault,” Colorado Public Radio reported.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for additional information Wednesday, Sept. 25.

The Bucktail fire was one of the largest fires that burned across Colorado this summer, but because of its remote location in western Montrose County, no one was evacuated, Colorado Public Radio reported. An arrest affidavit estimates the flames caused more than $200,000 in damages, including the cabin and privately owned land, the station reported.

Photos show the fire burning across desolate prairies about 6.5 miles northeast of Nucla, according to information Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest Fire Information posted to Facebook on Aug. 1, the day the fire started.

Nucla is about a 405-mile drive southwest from Colorado Springs.

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