A house fire Wednesday in Carmacks was deliberately set, police reported Thursday. They have arrested the home's former resident and charged him with arson.

RCMP officers from the Carmacks detachment and volunteer firefighters responded to the blaze at around 8:30 Wednesday evening.

The house, owned by the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation, was fully engulfed by the time emergency responders arrived, according to a police report.

"RCMP were quickly able to establish that the (tenant) had earlier walked away from the home,” police said in a press release.

The man, Dion Blackjack, was located nearby and arrested for suspected arson.

"There was some suggestion that there was an unaccounted for person but that person was located safe in Pelly Crossing,” police spokesman Sgt. Don Rogers said, adding there were no other people in the house at the time of the blaze.

Once the fire had burned itself out, RCMP arson investigators, the forensic identification section, and the Yukon's fire marshal examined the scene.

The house "was a complete loss,” according to police. No damage estimate was available by press time this afternoon.

The 42-year-old suspect was scheduled to appear in territorial court at 1:30 p.m. today.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the fire, Rogers said today.