Colorado Man Started Wildfire While Trying to Cremate Dog

A dog‘s send off party ended up causing more than $300,000 in damages. Earlier this month, the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office arrested 63-year-old Brent Scott Garber for allegedly starting the Bucktail Fire in Nucla, Colorado, as multiple outlets reported.

According to an affidavit that the Montrose Daily Press was first to obtain, law enforcement first tied Garber to the wildfire when an officer spotted him driving away from the location on an ATV shortly after the blaze was reported.

Once the starting point of the fire was examined, investigators found a partially burned body of a dog. A rock was found in the area with an inscription that read, “Oct. 2017 July 2024, Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace Buddy.”

Garber, the affidavit alleged, decided to hold a funeral after Rocket was put down by court order after getting into a fight with another dog. Garber allegedly laid Rocket’s body in a pit with wood, which he proceeded to light on fire. He then, the affidavit claimed, threw a spray can on the flames, which exploded, catching a tree on fire.

According to the affidavit, Garber lived in a camper near the fire’s location and allegedly told witnesses that he accidentally started the blaze.

Now, he’s charged with three felony counts as a result of the fire. The $300,000 in damages include one destroyed home, as the wildfire burned across more than 7,200 acres of land.

Multiple outlets report that Garber is due in court on Oct. 23.