Man accused of lighting Bucktail Wildfire during dog cremation

A 63-year-old man has been accused of starting a forest fire in Colorado when he tried to cremate his dog, according to local media reports.

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

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

Garber was first identified as a suspect after a Montrose County Sheriff’s Office officer recognized him as he drove away from the scene of the fire in an all-terrain vehicle just minutes after the report, the Denver Post reported, citing an arrest affidavit.

“Rest in peace, buddy.”

The official and state fire investigators later found an excavated cave containing a partially burned dog’s corpse at the fire’s starting point. A large stone with the inscription “Oct. 2017 July 2024, “Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace Buddy,” including a glued bone, was also found at the site, the local media outlet reported.

Rocket, Garber’s dog, was euthanized by Nucla city officials on a judge’s order because the animal was involved in a fight with another dog, the affidavit states, as reported by the Denver Post and KKCO.

Witnesses also later told investigators that Garber, who lived in a mobile home near the fire, told them he accidentally started the fire after a spray can he had thrown into the pit exploded and set a tree on fire .

The affidavit alleged that Garber placed his dog in a pit of wood and lit the wood on fire before throwing the spray can into the flames.

One of the largest fires in Colorado this year

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

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

Saman Shafiq is a featured news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

“Rest in peace, buddy.”

One of the largest fires in Colorado this year

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