An attorney representing the father and son told BuzzFeed News they did not spark the Caldor fire, but were the first ones to call 911.
Two men were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sparking a massive California wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes and threatened Lake Tahoe.
The two are accused of reckless arson, but Reichel said they actually tried to warn people in the area about the flames as the fire began to spread rapidly. The Caldor fire burned a total of 221,835 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, including hundreds of homes as it burned for 67 days. The small community of, and the fire after tore through the forest above the idyllic Tahoe Basin. For days, it threatened to decimate South Lake Tahoe, causing thousands of people to evacuate. It was the second blaze on record to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains.