“I’ve had wood stoves all my life; I knew that you don’t do that,” he said. “So, it sent a spark out through the chimney, which landed on the roof.”

Hours later, Mr. Steele awoke in the early morning to a cold cabin on Dec. 17 or 18 (he’s not entirely certain, the report said), and there’s a “drip, drip, drip — there’s fiery drips of plastic coming through the roof above me.”

“So, I go outside” — to pick up some snow, he said — “and I just see that the whole roof’s on fire.”

At that point, Mr. Steele said all he had on were boots with no socks, long johns and a heavy wool sweater. The fire spread quickly, according to the report, and Mr. Steele had no time to pause.

His dog, a 6-year-old chocolate Labrador named Phil, was still in the cabin.

Mr. Steele said he grabbed everything that was on his bed, some coats, some sleeping bags, and rushed outside. He called for his dog, and Phil jumped off the bed.

“I think it’s good, right? I think he’s left,” he said.

From the outside, Mr. Steele said the whole cabin was on fire. As he went to grab his rifle on the other side of the cabin, Mr. Steele said he heard howling.

“I have no words for what sorrow,” he said. “It was just, just a scream. Just a visceral — not angry, not sad, just, like, that’s all I could express — just scream. Felt like I tore my lung out.”