NUCLA, Colo. — Investigators looking for the cause of the Bucktail Fire in western Colorado last month discovered the partially burned remains of a dog — leading to the conclusion that a man's attempted cremation of his pet sparked the fire.
Law enforcement arrested the 63-year-old man earlier this month, and he is charged with arson and trespassing, court documents show.
Authorities say the cremation ceremony started the Bucktail Fire on Aug. 1 near Nucla in Montrose County. The fire is estimated to have caused about $200,000 in damages and burned about 7,200 acres. One building was damaged. The burn is now 83% contained.
His dog, named Rocket, had been in a fight with another dog and was euthanized under court order in Nucla, a town on Colorado’s western border with Utah, according to the arrest affidavit.
The suspect lived in a camper near where the fire started, and his pet's cremation got out of control when a spray can he threw into the blaze blew and lit a tree on fire, according to court records.
Minutes after the fire was reported, law enforcement witnessed the man driving an ATV away from the blaze. It was first reported by the Montrose Daily Press.
At the site, etched on a large rock above Rocket's remains, was written dates and “Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace Buddy,” according to an arrest affidavit. A bone was glued below the epitaph.
