Kristin Murphy, The Deseret News via AP

Draper resident Cory Allan Martin, 26, was arrested Monday above the Bonneville Shoreline Trail near Springville after confessing to starting a 40-acre fire.

Martin allegedly admitted to Springville Fire Chief Henry Clinton and Springville Public Safety Director/Police Chief Lance Haight that he started the fire because he was trying to kill a spider with a lighter.

When firefighters arrived on scene, Clinton said the fire was about the size of a small garage but grew to 40 acres by the end of the night.

“It started off really small … almost spider-sized,” he said flabbergasted. “I’ve never heard that. That’s a first for me in 40 years.

“When we arrived, we saw a vehicle that wasn’t too far away from the fire. So, fearing that there were people in the car, I went up to get those people out of here. I just happened to grab my boss, who is the public safety director and police chief, and we went up there together. He (Martin) immediately started talking about a spider. I didn’t quite understand. I was confused. I was trying to figure out what the spider had to do with anything. We asked if anyone was with him, and he said just his dog.”

Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP

Clinton had to leave Martin with Haight to assist with the fire. He said Martin continued to tell Haight he had to burn a spider, and that’s what caused the fire.

The fire department received a call at 4:45 p.m. Monday from an unknown individual who reported seeing smoke coming from the mountain. The department responded with several fire trucks and 400 gallons of water, but it wasn’t enough to put the fire out. Five different fire departments collaborated to put the fire out, according to Clinton.

“It was a fast, fast-moving fire,” he said. “We got water on it rather quickly. In a matter of two or three minutes, the fire was 75% up the mountain.”

All personnel had to get off the mountain at 9 p.m. due to a storm that quickly rolled in. Clinton said there were nearby lightning strikes and no one wanted to risk getting hurt.

“We were going to do another hour and a half,” he said. “The main part of the fire was out. We were just getting embers, but the with the weather event, we didn’t want to risk it. We kept someone up there to keep eyes on it. You could see the hotspots. The embers were glowing but there were no flames, but the rain put the rest of it out for us. The last ember was put out around 2 a.m.”

Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP

Spencer Cannon, public information officer for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, said Martin was booked into the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork but made bail that was set at $1,950. He was charged with reckless burning, a class A misdemeanor, and two other charges for being in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

According to court records, Martin is set to have a pretrial conference Aug. 17 for five charges he received in South Salt Lake City on March 17. The Salt Lake charges were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to operate within a single lane. Court documents state Martin pleaded not guilty to all charges.