SACRAMENTO, Calif. — During a two-day court hearing in Placerville this week, prosecutors will unveil evidence for the first time against the father-son duo accused of recklessly sparking the Caldor Fire.
David and Travis Shane Smith each face three felony counts of reckless arson and felony weapons charges for allegedly sparking the massive blaze.
The Caldor Fire started on forest service land Aug. 14, 2021 and rapidly spread, destroying the community of Grizzly Flats.
It exploded in size in the following weeks, forcing the closure of both Highway 88 and US 50, where the flames eventually burst over Echo Summit and into the Lake Tahoe basin.
The entire town of South Lake Tahoe and surrounding communities were forced to evacuate. At the peak of evacuations, more than 50,000 people were forced from their homes. More than 1,000 buildings, most of them houses, burned.
The Smiths are accused of sparking the fire while shooting guns in the forest, but El Dorado County prosecutors have revealed few details about the case.
The prosecution will put on a mini-trial called a preliminary hearing Tuesday and Wednesday in which they must convince a judge there is probable cause against the Smiths.
The prosecution has been preparing witnesses and evidence for the hearing, but would not agree to an interview ahead of it.
The defense has not responded to our requests for interviews, but told the judge the Smiths do not anticipate calling any witnesses this week.
David and Shane Smith both pleaded not guilty and have previously insisted through their attorneys they did not start the fire. The pair are free on bail pending trial.
Their defense attorneys contend the father and son displayed anything but recklessness, emphasizing their efforts to alert others and promptly reporting the fire by calling 911.
Prosecutors have not yet revealed why they believe the Smiths’ behavior was negligent or reckless enough to amount to criminal negligence, but court filings do contain possible breadcrumbs.
In court filings arguing for higher bail amounts, prosecutors shared arson investigators found "the Caldor Fire likely ignited when a projectile discharged from a firearm and struck an object, causing heated fragments of the projectile to land in a dry receptive fuel bed, igniting the fuels.”
The prosecution also said it has video evidence proving Travis Shane has a history of firing incendiary ammunition, which is illegal in California, at his El Dorado County home.
Court documents name a specific brand of incendiary shotgun ammunition specifically designed to start fires from a distance, according to sales literature reviewed by ABC10.
Websites offering the ammunition for sale stress it is illegal in California and display warnings like: “WARNING! Extreme fire hazard. Do not shoot in any dry grass foliage, trees, or near flammable materials.”
The cause of the Caldor Fire was ruled “incendiary,” according to the prosecution. But if prosecutors believe these rounds started the Caldor Fire, they haven’t said so yet.
Shane Smith’s attorney Mark Recihel did not respond to an ABC10 email asking whether his client had incendiary rounds on the day the Caldor Fire started and whether he disputes Smith fired incendiary rounds at his home the year before the Caldor Fire.
In addition to the felony reckless arson charges, both men face a felony charge for possession of a silencer.
Shane Smith is also charged with a felony for allegedly using an illegal device to convert a semiautomatic weapon into a machine gun.
