Tahoe file

The El Dorado County District Attorney's office said in a statement that David Scott Smith and his son, Travis Shane Smith, are accused of reckless arson in a warrant issued before formal charges are filed.

David Scott Smith, 66, and his son, Travis Shane Smith, 32, are accused of reckless arson in a warrant issued before formal charges are filed, the El Dorado County District Attorney's office said. Authorities allege they caused homes to burn and people to be seriously injured in the fire that began in August. The Caldor fire scorched more than square miles square kilometers from east of Sacramento to the Nevada border, threatening ski resorts and other prominent recreational areas.

The fire destroyed more than 1, homes and other buildings while crossing a mostly remote forested area of seasonal cabins.

The fire crossed through three northern counties, destroyed much of the small community of Grizzly Flats and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the resort town of South Lake Tahoe before it was contained in October. Five people were injured. It was one of two massive fires last summer that for the first time in modern history crossed the Sierra Nevada range.

Reichel said he did not know details of the accusation, such as how authorities allege the fire was set. The cables have been in disuse since the s, when Pacific Bell switched to fiber optic cables, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance said in a press release.

They were discovered by local divers working to remove garbage from Lake Tahoe. The nonprofit estimates that the cables contain 63 tons of lead — or 3 pounds of lead in each foot. In a statement, the company said, "We are committed to preserving one of the most scenic freshwater lakes in the Sierra Nevada. We have agreed to remove these cables because they are no longer in use, however, we dispute any notion that they were a source of pollution.

The Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center has been making repairs directed by California regulators since Tamarack — named after the wildfire that blazed across more than square miles in the Sierra and severely burned the cub's paws — tunneled under an electric fence and fled back to the wild. Two days later, volunteers spotted and photographed a cub clinging to a tree 40 feet 12 meters up in a nearby forest.

The center has continued to rescue smaller animals and recently released seven rehabilitated coyote pups. But it's been prohibited from accepting big game including bears since the California Department of Fish and Wildlife declared in October that it had to make improvements to its enclosures and fencing.

Erfani said supply-chain challenges have delayed immediate repairs but the center should be fully up and running by next month, bears and all.

The expansion includes the hospital with two large recovery rooms, surgery and X-ray areas, individual care buildings for different species and a small dormitory for staff providing round-the-clock care — all at the place young Tamarack briefly called home. The tale of his rescue-turned-escape began July 26 when a homeowner in Markleeville, California, spotted the cub crawling on his knees because his paws were so badly burned.