A father and son were arrested by police on Wednesday on suspicion that they may have been responsible for starting the Caldor fire, which burned hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to evacuate earlier this year.
Police announced that they had arrested 66-year-old David Scott Smith and his son, 32-year-old Travis Shane Smith. The two have been accused of reckless arson and were arrested with a warrant issued before charges.
Authorities claimed that the fire starting by the two individuals had spread and burned more than 1,000 homes and buildings from east of Sacramento to the Nevada border. The Caldor fire scorched more than 346 square miles of land, causing billions in damages and seriously injuring several people.
The Caldor fire crossed through three northern countries and laid waste to small communities in Lake Tahoe before it was finally contained in October. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported, but at least five people had been seriously injured. The fire was one of the worst to hit the state last summer, and it was the first one ever to cross the Sierra Nevada range.
Police did not give further details about how they had come to the conclusion that the two may have started the fire. Mark Reichel, the attorney for both men, said he also did not know how the police allege the fire was set by his clients.
Travis Smith, reportedly, worked as an electrician and was with his father when the Caldor fire first started. He was, reportedly, the first person to call 911 to report seeing flames in the area. Reichel said the two had repeatedly called 911 because their calls kept on dropping due to poor reception. He added that they had also warned campers and people in the vicinity about the growing fire.
Reichel clarified that the proposed reckless arson charge meant that his clients had not started the blaze intentionally if they ever did so in the first place. He said that they may have started the blaze by accident, as indicated in the reckless arson accusation.
"Neither one has ever been in trouble with the law in their life. They're very law-abiding people," Reichel said.
The father and son are set to appear in court on Friday. Reichel has urged people to refrain from forming any opinions until more information and evidence is provided. He said that prosecutors have yet to submit any evidence subject to his cross-examination.
The case was built in collaboration with the US Department of Justice, according to the district attorney's office. With assistance from the Sacramento County District Attorney's crime lab, the Forest Service, California's firefighting department, and the California Department of Justice, which all investigated the incident.
