A Colorado man took a deal and pleaded guilty Wednesday to starting a Montrose County wildfire last year while trying to cremate his dog, Rocket, according to court records.

Brent Garber, 64, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted arson, a felony, court records show. He originally faced another three charges, including two counts of felony arson and one count of trespassing.

The cremation-sparked Bucktail fire, one of Colorado’s largest wildfires last year, started north of Nucla on Aug. 1, 2024. It burned 7,200 acres of private and national forest land, caused an estimated $300,000 in damages and destroyed one home, according to Garber’s arrest affidavit.

Garber was identified as a suspect after a Montrose County Sheriff’s Office commander spotted him driving away from the fire just minutes after it was reported.

At the fire’s starting point, investigators found a dug-out cave, the partially burned body of a dog and a large rock with the words “Oct. 2017 – July 2024, Rocket Dog, Rest in Peace Buddy” etched on it.

Garber is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16.

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