A man caused a forest fire when he tried to burn a spider

Firefighters attend fire. (Reference photo).

Some netizens believe the fire was actually started while he was trying to smoke marijuana.

A 26-year-old American has been accused of starting a forest fire while trying to kill a spider with a lighter in the state of Utah, in the west of the country.

Police took Cory Allan Martin into custody Monday afternoon at the site of the fire near Springville, south of Salt Lake City. He is charged with negligent arson, as well as possession of marijuana and material intended to consume this substance.

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Martin told the agents that “tried to kill a spider with a lighter and started a fire“, explains the Utah County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook. Netizens reacted. “Burning a spider in Utah… in the mountains… in July… during a drought,” one ranted.

The young man was in preventive detention and was released after paying a bail of 1,950 dollars, indicate the sheriff’s services. The fire burned about 25 hectares of forest from the base to the top of a mountain, Utah firefighters explained on Twitter, who had to mobilize two teams and a helicopter to contain the flames.

The discovery of marijuana in the possession of Cory Allan Martin has fueled the suspicions of Internet users. “I have a pretty good idea what he was doing with that lighter,” suggested one on the sheriff’s office Facebook page, implying that he accidentally set the fire while trying to smoke a joint. “We couldn’t prove what you’re thinking,” Sergeant Spencer Cannon replied.

AFP