Authorities Say Utah Fire Was Started When Man Tried to Kill Spider by Burning It With Lighter

Abject hideousness of spiders aside, it’s never advised to attempt burning them with a lighter.

A wildfire that began in Springville, Utah and was subsequently deemed “the Wildland Fire” was reported earlier this week by regional outlet KTVX to have started spreading to additional Utah County areas, with Provo Fire Department and other local agencies ultimately responding to the scene.

On Tuesday, per KTVX, a man was arrested in connection with the fire after allegedly telling officers he had been using a lighter to burn a spider when the blaze in question—which at one point was said to have spanned 60 acres and was recently announced to be 90-percent contained—was accidentally started.

​​​​​​​In a publicly shared statement, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said that 26-year-old Cory Allan Martin had been arrested on Aug. 1 after allegedly admitting he “tried to kill a spider with a lighter and in the process started a fire.” Martin was booked on multiple charges and ultimately bailed out of jail. Charges listed in publicly available jail records include reckless burning by way of starting a fire and endangering human life, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.

Speaking with KTVX, Utah County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant and Public Information Officer Spencer Cannon noted he’s “not sure exactly why [the suspect] felt the need to have to burn the spider.”