Current:Home > reviewsMan arrested on arson charge after Arizona wildfire destroyed 21 homes, caused evacuations -Mastery Money Tools
Man arrested on arson charge after Arizona wildfire destroyed 21 homes, caused evacuations
View
Date:2025-04-14 17:47:27
Arizona police arrested a man on a charge of arson in connection with a wildfire that torched 2,000 acres of Native American reservation land, destroying homes, triggering evacuations and leaving dozens of residents unsheltered – one of the latest damaging blazes in the West that police have tied to a suspect.
Keanu Dude, 22, was arrested on a charge of arson by the San Carlos Apache Police Department and the Tribe's game and fish rangers on Tuesday for his alleged role in sparking the so-called Watch Fire. The blaze began on July 10 as a small brush fire but high winds from a thunderstorm caused the flames to rapidly spread in all directions across the San Carlos Apache Reservation, east of Phoenix.
Dude was a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, officials said. It remains unclear how exactly the fire was started. Police say the investigation is still active.
"It saddens me deeply that a member of our Tribe has been charged with starting this fire that devastated our community," San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said in a statement. "Arson is a senseless act that will never be tolerated under any circumstance. I am thankful for the swift and thorough investigation by tribal and federal law enforcement that has resulted in an arrest."
By July 18, more than a week after it broke out, firefighters had completely contained the blaze. Damage surveys found that it had destroyed 21 homes, forced more than 400 members of the Tribe to evacuate the area and left 73 unsheltered. The Tribe is accepting monetary donations towards rebuilding homes and infrastructure.
"While thankfully no one was injured, many face extreme hardship, losing their homes and all their possessions and were left with only the clothes on their back," Rambler said. "It is imperative that everyone in our Tribe work together to overcome this criminal act and rebuild our community stronger and better than ever."
Police search for suspects they say sparked major wildfire with fireworks
In California, law enforcement in Riverside, a city just 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, are searching for suspects they believe sparked a major wildfire with illegal fireworks.
The so-called Hawarden Fire, which was ignited on Sunday, has forced over 1,500 residents in Riverside from their homes, injured two people, destroyed at least six homes and damaged several others. Officials put damage estimate totals at $11 million and fear that number may grow. As of Thursday morning, the fire had scorched 527 acres of land and was 60% contained.
Authorities said they have video of the culprits and a manhunt was underway. "We will prosecute those responsible for this incident," Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a statement.
Over 1.4 million acres of land torched in large active wildfires
As of Wednesday, authorities across the West were battling some 88 large active wildfires that have burned more than 1.4 million acres of land, an area more than twice the size of Rhode Island, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Officials have cited a relentless stretch of searing heat and record-breaking temperatures when discussing this year's active fire season. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said while the number of wildfires is on track with previous years, the number of acres burned has surged – a result he blames on "unprecedented heat."
Nearly 85% of wildland fires in the U.S. are caused by humans, according to the National Park Service, which listed several common causes, including unattended campfires, burning debris, equipment malfunctions, discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson.
Contributing: John Bacon and Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
veryGood! (3937)
Related
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- This $20 Amazon Top Is the Perfect Addition to Any Wardrobe, According to Reviewers
- 4 States Get Over 30 Percent of Power from Wind — and All Lean Republican
- A German Initiative Seeks to Curb Global Emissions of a Climate Super-Pollutant
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Carbon capture technology: The future of clean energy or a costly and misguided distraction?
- Dylan Mulvaney addresses backlash from Bud Light partnership in new video
- Experts Divided Over Safety of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Western Coal Takes Another Hit as Appeals Court Rules Against Export Terminal
Ranking
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Police Treating Dakota Access Protesters ‘Like an Enemy on the Battlefield,’ Groups Say
- Supreme Court blocks student loan forgiveness plan, dealing blow to Biden
- Melissa Gorga Reveals Bombshell RHONJ Reunion Receipt in Attack on A--hole Teresa Giudice
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- New Study Shows a Vicious Circle of Climate Change Building on Thickening Layers of Warm Ocean Water
- Congress Extends Tax Breaks for Clean Energy — and Carbon Capture
- Activists Gird for a Bigger Battle Over Oil and Fumes from a Port City’s Tank Farms
Recommendation
Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
Air Monitoring Reveals Troubling Benzene Spikes Officials Don’t Fully Understand
Activists Gird for a Bigger Battle Over Oil and Fumes from a Port City’s Tank Farms
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Daughter Gracie Shares Update After Taking Ozempic for PCOS
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
UPS strike imminent if pay agreement not reached by Friday, Teamsters warn
Fox News agrees to pay $12 million to settle lawsuits from former producer Abby Grossberg
TikTok's Jaden Hossler Seeking Treatment for Mental Health After Excruciating Lows