Federal prosecutors say a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe has been arrested in connection with a devastating wildfire on tribal land last summer.
Twenty-five-year-old Keanu Rudy Dude was indicted by a federal grand jury and is now charged with arson for the Watch Fire, which burned on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in July.
The fire destroyed 21 homes and evacuated 400 families. Authorities said it damaged power lines — causing a temporary power outage — and took a week to fully contain. A state of emergency was declared to help members of the tribe. The wildfire burned more than 2,000 acres and is considered one of the tribe’s worst in three decades.
Dude is set to make his initial court appearance Monday.
