Wildfire investigators looking for the cause of blaze 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 a fire that damaged private property including a cabin.
Law enforcement arrested the man earlier this month and he is now charged with arson and trespassing, court documents show. Authorities say the cremation ceremony started the fire on Aug. 1 that’s estimated to have caused about $200,000 in damages and burned about 11 square miles (28 square kilometers), the Denver Post reported. The burn is now largely contained.
Sometimes, in northern US states, people burn their houses down because they think they can use flamethrowers to melt the snow and ice off their roofs. Ice is pretty resilient to flames.