YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — A Yuma man has been arrested on suspicion of starting a wildfire in a national wildlife refuge in southwestern Arizona near the California border, authorities said.
The Yuma County Sheriff's Office said 47-year-old Jason Bradley Martin remains jailed on charges of arson, criminal damage to property and more.
Police said Saturday night that Martin had been identified as a suspect in the case and was being taken into custody. The county jail website did not list an attorney for Martin as of Sunday.
The fire was reported around 2 p.m. Saturday in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1941 to protect 30 miles (48 km) of mostly wetland habitat along the lower Colorado River.
Officials said the fire was 20 percent contained after burning about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) of vegetation along the Arizona side of the Colorado River in Yuma County.
Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the federal Bureau of Land Management, were on scene Saturday to assist firefighters.
