A father and son were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of starting the massive Caldor Fire in August that destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee communities near Lake Tahoe.
David Scott Smith, 66, and his son, Travis Shane Smith, 32, have been accused of reckless arson in a warrant issued before formal charges are filed, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office said.
Mark Reichel, the attorney for both men, said they were arrested Wednesday afternoon and that "reckless arson" means starting a blaze by accident but “to such a degree that it was considered reckless.”
Authorities allege they caused homes to burn and people to be seriously injured. The Caldor Fire burned for several months, before being fully contained in October, scorching nearly 222,000 acres, from the foothills east of Sacramento to the Nevada border.
The fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes and other buildings while crossing a mostly remote forested area of seasonal cabins. The blaze traversed three northern counties, destroyed much of the small foothills community of Grizzly Flats, near where the fire ignited, and forced more than 20,000 residents to evacuate the resort town of South Lake Tahoe. Five injuries from the fire were reported, but no deaths.