I didn't see anyone else post this...sorry if it is redundant.
Alan

08-07) 13:41 PDT -- The state's firefighting agency is not seeking charges
against a 28-year-old target shooter from Mariposa suspected of sparking a
massive wildfire west of Yosemite National Park that burned 30 homes and 100
other buildings, an official said today.

"Cal Fire is not seeking charges at this time, and most likely will not,
unless something new comes up," said Battalion Chief Don Stein, who directs
law enforcement for the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection in Mariposa, Madera and Merced counties.

He said investigators "made it clear that they didn't see gross negligence,
that it was just a tragic accident."

Stein said the investigators had been in contact with Mariposa County
prosecutors, who agreed with the decision. However, Mariposa County District
Attorney Robert Brown said his office had not made a final decision and was
awaiting more information.

Stein said the man, who has not been identified, admitted that he started
the Telegraph Fire at 3:15 p.m. June 25 while shooting at a creek bank with
a .30-caliber rifle in a remote area near his home.

He was shooting near the end of Mosher Road northeast of downtown Mariposa,
near his family's mining claim on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property,
Stein said.

The young man used a legal weapon with steel and lead ammunition, and
purposefully moved near a wet creek "to reduce the risk," Stein said. But a
bullet apparently struck a rock and sparked the fire.

Mariposa County sheriff's Capt. Joel Bibby said the young man had been
"plinking" - shooting at nontraditional targets near the creek - with two
other people, who have also spoken to investigators.

"They said they tried to put water on the fire" after it ignited, Bibby
said.

The blaze burned more than 34,000 acres of land, prompted the evacuations of
hundreds of people, cost $37.6 million to fight and cut off power
temporarily to parts of the Yosemite Valley. It was finally contained
Wednesday, Cal Fire said.

Cal Fire may still file a claim against the target shooter seeking to
recover some of the firefighting costs.

Whether the target shooter should face charges has been a major source of
debate in Mariposa County. On Mosher Road, neighbors - who were evacuated
but did not lose homes - expressed mixed feelings.

"Our view is that it's an accident. A horrible accident, but an accident
nonetheless," said Rita Long. "It could happen to anybody."

Ronnie Cole, who said he knew the man's grandfather, said, "It wasn't
anything intentional, and he was man enough and good enough to report it to
authorities."

But another neighbor, who declined to give her name, said the man should
have known better than to shoot on a hot and dry day during a historic fire
season.

"I think he's liable," the neighbor said. "This time of year the brush is
dry, and all it takes is one little spark. Accident or no accident, he
caused it."

E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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