Man Tries to Light up a Bug, Ends up Burning Down a Mountain – Opinion

Spiders aren’t exactly universally adored, but a Utah resident’s apparent animus toward such a creature recently turned out to be a hot mess.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune the dog and man were walking in the country Monday afternoon. They came across a spider while on their way. They assumed that the spider was just going about its normal business. However, the man seemed intent with evil intentions.

He decided to not only kill him, but also to make it particularly dangerous: The animal might be ignited for being creepy.

This was a desperate act, and soon the mountains would join it. The spider was trying to be killed with a lighter when the man started setting the fires.

Reporting on the fire [around 4:30 p.m.]…moved quickly up the mountain along the border between Springville and Provo…

Wildfires were being whipped by winds and needed to be fought. Utah County Fire Department, Springville Fire, Mapleton Fire Company, Provo Fire Stations and two helicopters participated in the coordinated attack.

Per the New York Post, “One of the choppers drew water from a reservoir to dump on the blaze.”

Crews continued to be on site throughout the night. On Tuesday afternoon 60 acres had already been burned.

But the disaster was 90 percent contained — thanks to responders who swooped in like superheroes.

Speaking of — they caught the, uh, blazing-spider man:

The suspect (spotted near the scene by early-arrivers)…told…deputies he had tried “using a lighter to burn a spider” before the fast-moving blaze broke out…

It could be a coincidence that one particular thing happens at the same time.

Deputies…found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his backpack, department officials said.

Utah County Sergeant Spencer Cannon — who, according to KTVX, was “still scratching his head over the incident” — reflected on regret:

Not sure exactly why he felt the need to need to have to burn the spider but you know, all the regret in the world doesn’t change the outcome based on whatever reason there was for him doing that.

Wildland Fire is the name of the wildfire that resulted from the mistake. The suspect — surely seen by some as a speciesist — got a name, too: “jailbird.” He was “booked into Utah County Jail and is facing a drug possession charge and a reckless burning charge — which carries up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500 dollars.”

Of course, Utah’s arachnid incident isn’t the only anomalous inferno of the past several years. Deseret News reported on other fires that were triggered by the news story.

• In 2017, a Border Patrol agent shot a target filled with colored powder — and Tannerite, an explosive substance — during a [gender reveal party]… The fire would go on to burn over 45,000 acres in Arizona’s Coronado National Forest, causing $8 million in damages and requiring nearly 800 firefighters.
• A police officer from the Orem Police Gun Range started the Range Fire, which burned 3,450 acres in Utah County. … There are typically three ways target shooting can trigger a blaze, according to Utah Fire Info. One of the more common instances is when a bullet strikes a rock and shatters — those fragments can then cause a spark.
• In 2008, a fire was started in Hoodsport, Washington, after a man shot at power lines — and in 2020, multiple fires were sparked in Jackson, Mississippi, after someone shot a utility line, then three days later shot another line.
• [F]Although ires caused by horseshoes is rare, they can happen. One of the most notable examples is the 100-acre wildfire that was sparked by horseshoes near Camp Far West, California. This blaze started in 2002 when a horseshoe ignited on a rock and ignited the brush. Two years prior, sparks from horseshoes also led to the American Fire of Auburn in California. “People who are riding horses need to look behind them,” Tina Rose, a firefighter, told Gold Country Media at the time.

It was even reported by the Utah governor that the disaster had occurred in Springville. Spencer Cox. His advice for youngsters was offered by Spencer Cox via Twitter

“Um, don’t do drugs, kids. And don’t start spiders on fire during a drought.”

-ALEX

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