An Arizona tribe member named Keanu Dude has been accused of starting a huge wildfire — one that eventually burned over 2,200 acres and left dozens of people homeless — by torching an American flag.
Dude, a 22-year-old member of the San Carlos Apache tribe, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly starting the Watch Fire, which burned 3.4 square miles, destroyed 21 homes and forced more than 400 people to evacuate reservation land before finally being contained last week, officials said.
He was seen burning an American flag just before the raging wildfire started, the tribe’s police chief, Elliot Sneezy, told Arizona Family, without giving a motive.
“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.
“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.”
Dude is unemployed and has a criminal record, tribal officials said, without elaborating.
He was being held in the San Carlos Adult Detention & Rehabilitation Center on an arson charge.
It was unclear if he had a lawyer yet for his case.
No other information was released about Dude’s possible motive for starting the fire on July 10, which took a week to fully contain and led to a state of emergency on the tribal land just east of Phoenix.
The fire damaged power lines — causing a temporary power outage — and injured several animals, with at least one pet killed, according to Arizona Family.
The tribe is accepting monetary donations toward 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.”
With Post wires