A fire that burned dozens of acres in Utah was started by a man who confessed to igniting the brushfire while trying to burn a spider, officials said.
The fire lit up 60 acres of a mountainside Monday in Springville, Utah, 50 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah fire officials said.
“Why he was trying to do that – I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense to us,” Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff spokesperson, told USA TODAY. “But that’s what he told us, and we’ve got no reason to believe he’s making that up.”
The 26-year-old man was booked on a misdemeanor reckless burning charge, and charges related to possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, Cannon said.
The local fire department was called at about 4:45 p.m. and arrived within minutes. When Springville Fire Chief Henry Clinton arrived on scene and was accompanied by Springville Police Chief Lance Haight when they saw a vehicle and man walking about with his dog on an access road high up on the mountainside.
“So really we went up there really to save his life,” Clinton told USA TODAY. “We weren’t thinking he lit the fire. And then as we approached, we had to stop because he was blocking the road. We got out, and he just offered: ‘There was a spider!’…It didn’t make any sense to me…So I just looked at him and said ‘What spider?’“.
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As Clinton left to address the fire, the man confessed to Haight that he was trying to light a spider on fire. Then police arrested him.
Clinton said roughly 100 firefighters from five different departments moved quickly and aggressively to stop the rapid moving fire and prevent it from reaching a row of homes downhill. An air tanker dropped retardant on the flames.
Fire crews began to pull back at about 9:00 p.m. as lightning began to strike nearby. Then heavy rain fell on the area, and the fire was out by the morning, according to Clinton.
Fire officials said online on Tuesday morning that the fire area grew to 60 acres, and was 10% contained, which refers to how much of the fire’s perimeter has been surrounded by firefighters. Officials said containment was expected to “drastically increase” by the end of firefighters’ shift, Utah Fire said.
“Everybody did an outstanding job. No injuries to speak of, just some scratches,” Clinton said. “Everybody left in good shape.”
People facing fire-related charges can be held accountable for the expenses involved in fighting the fire, according to Cannon.
“I was talking to two of the police chiefs that were there last night and they estimated that the cost of this fire is probably going to be well over $200,000,” Cannon said.
