LOS ANGELES, Dec 9, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - A father and son have been arrested
on charges of starting a huge forest fire that burned more than 200,000 acres
in northern California this summer, local officials said.

   David Smith, 66, and Travis Smith, 32, were charged with starting a fire
which led to the conflagration known as the Caldor Fire on August 14 near
Lake Tahoe, a densely forested area popular with tourists.

   It took firefighters 67 days to bring the fire under control, during which
time five people were injured and 1,000 residential or commercial buildings
were destroyed, according to the California fire department.

   The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office said in a statement the
two men were charged with reckless arson and were under arrest.

   The Caldor Fire prompted the evacuation of several dozen people in this
region on the border with Nevada, located near the largest alpine lake in
North America .