Suspects In Caldor Fire Deny Any Wrongdoing; Claim They Called 911 After Seeing Flames

EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS13) – Two men are nether arrest, accused of starting the Caldor Fire earlier this year.

On Wednesday, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office announced that begetter and lad David Scott Smith, 66, and Travis Shane Smith, 32, are nether apprehension connected charges of reckless arson successful transportation with the fire, which burned much than 200,000 acres successful El Dorado and Amador Counties.

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They are being held successful the El Dorado County Jail successful Placerville connected $1 cardinal bail each, and are expected to beryllium arraigned by Friday.

The 2 men are accused of violating conception 452 of the California Penal Code, commonly referred to arsenic “reckless arson,” which caused inhabited properties to pain and resulted successful large bodily wounded to aggregate victims. Unlike arson, reckless arson complaint tin beryllium filed against idiosyncratic who sets a occurrence without intending to.

Total #caldorfire damages and losses according to @forestservice 1,003 structures destroyed, 5 injuries confirmed occurrence unit & civilians. @CBSSacramento

— Laura Haefeli (@LauraHaefeli) December 9, 2021

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Attorney Mark Reichel has been representing the men since August and says they didn’t commencement the fire. He says the men spotted flames adjacent the root successful the country of Omo Ranch, southbound of Grizzly Flats, and called 911. Reichel didn’t respond to the question of what the Smiths were doing successful the country astatine the clip of the fire.

The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office worked unneurotic with the USDA Forest Service, Cal Fire, the California Department of Justice and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Crime Lab to analyse the origin of the Caldor Fire.

The occurrence started connected the evening of August 14, 2021, and was progressive for 67 days. It was announced contained connected October 21, but not earlier it burned 221,835 acres, including astir the full assemblage of Grizzly Flats. The occurrence burned much than 1,000 structures and 5 radical were injured.

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The occurrence spanned 3 counties: El Dorado, Amador, and Alpine Counties.