SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, April 15, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — A man who reportedly admitted to starting multiple fires in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Tuesday has been jailed for alleged arson.
Garrett Jay Boyd, 34, was arrested at 6:11 p.m. Tuesday by an officer of the Salt Lake County Sheriff‘s Office after a multi-hour, multi-agency effort to reach him in rugged terrain and take him into custody.
Boyd’s charging documents say deputies responded to assist after a report of grass fires up Big Cottonwood Canyon. SLCO Sheriff Rosie Rivera said at a news conference that concerned citizens who observed the man’s behavior called dispatch at about 2:30 p.m.
“The fires were believed to be started intentionally, and a person was observed in the area,” the arrest document says. “A deputy advised they were able to see a male wearing white long-sleeve shirt and black pants walking around an actively burning fire. The fire was approximately 5 feet wide and about that tall.”
Unified Fire Authority “and the deputy maintained visual of the person with binoculars. The deputy observed the male bending over in another location he walked to, and a fire was started there.”
A Blackhawk helicopter from the Utah National Guard responded and monitored the fires until the Department of Public Safety helicopter arrived.
“DPS located the male (later identified as Garrett Boyd) and used a loudspeaker telling him to stop moving and stay were he was,” the arrest document says. “Boyd continued up the mountain into very steep terrain. DPS was able to hoist law enforcement officers onto the mountain near Boyd, and Boyd was taken into custody.”
Boyd was interviewed and “admitted to smoking methamphetamine the evening prior (Monday). He consumed Mike’s Hard Lemonade in the morning (Tuesday) and then was advised he was told by his ‘ancestors’ and the ‘spirits’ to go up the canyons,” the court document says.
“He advised he walked up Big Cottonwood Canyon and followed the ‘spirits’ who told him to go up the mountain. Once on the mountain, Boyd advised the land is sacred and he was going to burn wood. He intentionally started ‘three’ fires with no means to extinguish the fires. He advised he would let the fires ‘burn out.'”
Sheriff Rivera said the fires smoldered out rather than spreading, likely due to recent rain and cool temperatures.
Boyd told investigators “he could not hear announcements from the DPS helicopter even though deputies were able to hear the announcements at the base of the mountain.
“Due to the fires being set intentionally and the resources used to observe the fires and secure Boyd, the damages/loss caused by Boyd were in excess of $5,000.”
Boyd was jailed for investigation of:
- Arson, property of another with damages greater than $5,000, a second-degree felony
- Fail to stop at command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
The arrest document noted that Boyd has a previous history of disarming a police officer and a current warrant for assaulting an officer, failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer, and theft.
It also noted that Boyd is not from Utah, is unsheltered, and has no family ties to the state, so could pose a flight risk. As of Wednesday morning, Boyd was being held without bail.
