In what could possibly be the most bizarre way of starting a wildfire, 26-year-old Utah-based Cory Martin was arrested for starting a wildfire just as he was supposedly attempting to kill a spider with his lighter.
The man was allegedly high on marijuana as a small amount of marijuana along with drug paraphernalia was recovered from his backpack.
Cory was out hiking in the foothills south of Salt Lake City near the city of Springville when he saw a spider and felt the need to kill it using a lighter for reasons best known to himself, during which he unintentionally started the blaze which spread out rapidly owing to the fast winds.
Luckily the fire did not warrant a need to undertake any evacuations or cause the destruction of surrounding buildings and infrastructure. However, a 60-acre hillside was reduced to rubble. Not just this but the fire sent smoke across Utah Valley and firefighters from Springville, Provo, Mapleton and Utah County had to come in for the rescue, two choppers were also employed as flames surrounded an adjacent mountainside. Experts believe if not for the helicopters, the consequences could have been even worse.
Cory was later arrested on the charges of suspicion of reckless burn and possession of marijuana with a drug paraphernalia and is kept in the Utah County jail. Spencer Cox, Governor of Utah took the opportunity and sarcastically tweeted, “Um, don’t do drugs kids (and don’t start spiders on fire during a drought).”