EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — The father-son duo accused of recklessly starting the Caldor Fire after firing guns in the forest will not face criminal charges in the case, but will be arraigned for weapons charges, an El Dorado County judge ruled Friday.
David Scott Smith and his son, Travis Shane Smith, will not face criminal charges for starting the 68-day fire in 2021, but both will answer for one felony weapons charge each, according to El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Vicki Ashworth.
The Smiths will be arraigned for the weapons charges Feb. 2, 2024, the court said.
“We still got a little bit of fight left because there’s a few hanging charges that are left,” said Mark Reichel, Travis Shane Smith’s attorney. “This was the big one, and we are obviously very appreciative of the justice system working exactly how we were all taught it was supposed to work in our civics lessons in grammar school and high school.”
In November, prosecutors brought forth evidence against the Smiths during a two-day court hearing in Placerville, ABC10 previously reported.
The Caldor Fire started on forest service land Aug. 14, 2021 and rapidly spread, destroying the community of Grizzly Flats south of Pollock Pines.
It exploded in size in the following weeks, forcing the both highways 88 and 50 to close. 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 both previously pleaded not guilty and have insisted through their attorneys they did not start the fire.
Their defense attorneys said the father and son displayed anything but recklessness, emphasizing their efforts to alert others and promptly reporting the fire by calling 911.
Linda Parisi represents David Scott Smith in court. She said she thinks it is important to consider Smiths actions prior to litigation.
“It is very important what our clients before they ever met us, and what they did was acted responsibly,” Parisi said. “They could have left that area without ever going near the campers to warn them, but instead they went to the campers to warn them.”
In court filings arguing for higher bail amounts, prosecutors said 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.”
