Man accused of starting Colorado wildfire while cremating dog: Reports

A 63-year-old man was accused of starting a wildfire in Colorado while he was trying to cremate his dog, according to local media reports.

The Bucktail Fire started on Aug. 1 north of Nucla, about 350 miles west of Denver, and destroyed more than 7,200 acres of private and national forest land and one home before it was brought under control.

Brent Scott Garber, 63, was accused of arson and trespassing after investigators said he sparked the Bucktail Fire while trying to cremate his dog, the Denver Post reported, citing a Montrose County Sheriff’s Office affidavit. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the incident was initially listed as unknown.

Garber was first identified as a suspect after an officer with the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office recognized him as he was driving away in an ATV from the scene of the fire, just minutes after it was reported, the Denver Post said, citing an arrest affidavit.

'Rest in peace buddy'

The officer and state fire investigators later found a dug-out cave with a partially burned body of a dog at the fire’s starting point. A large rock with the words “Oct. 2017 July 2024, Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace Buddy” carved on it, with a bone glued below, was also found at the site, the local media outlet reported.

Rocket, who was Garber's dog, was euthanized by Nucla town officials after a judge's order because the animal got involved into a fight with another dog, the affidavit said, as per the Denver Post and KKCO.

Witnesses later also told investigators that Garber, who lived in a camper near the fire’s origin point, told them he accidentally started the fire after a spray can he threw into the pit blew up and lit a tree on fire.

The affidavit alleged Garber had put his dog in a pit with wood and lit the wood on fire before tossing the spray can into the flames.

One of Colorado's largest fires this year

The Bucktail Fire became one of the largest fires in Colorado this year, as per KKCO, and damaging public and private property and at least one building. No evacuations were issued. The fire was about 83% contained by August 13, as per Inciweb and additional updates were not immediately available. The sheriff’s office, in the affidavit, estimated damages from the fire to be around $300,000, the local media outlet reported.

Garber was arrested on Sept. 5, according to sheriff office records. He appeared at the Montrose County Courthouse Wednesday and his preliminary demand hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23, a court official told USA TODAY Thursday.

The Montrose County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for an update on the incident and it is not known if Garber is still in custody.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.