A 34-year-old man is in jail after witnesses reported watching him intentionally start multiple fires in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The man was spotted by a National Guard helicopter around 2:30 p.m. April 14 in the Mount Olympus Wilderness Area and monitored the fires as Salt Lake County authorities watched through binoculars as he climbed the mountain to ignite mountainside grasses.
A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter also joined the effort, ordering the man via loudspeaker to stop. The chopper then dropped law enforcement officers on the mountain to arrest him about 6 p.m.
As of Tuesday, he was being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of felony arson and failing to stop at the direction of police, a misdemeanor. KPCW does not identify people arrested for suspected crimes unless formal charges have been filed.
An affidavit filed with the jail says the man told Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputies he had smoked methamphetamine Monday evening and started drinking alcohol early Tuesday. He also said he was directed by the voices of his “ancestors” and the “spirits” to go up the canyon.
Once on the mountain he intentionally started three fires with no means to extinguish them, the document states. He said he planned to let the fires burn out.
Authorities report the damage totals more than $5,000, although the fires smoldered out on their own.
