Nov. 28--The target shooter blamed for starting the huge wildfire that tore across Mount Diablo in September will not face criminal charges, Contra Costa County prosecutors said Wednesday.
The district attorney's office said it found no evidence that the shooter, whose name was withheld, was criminally negligent when he fired rounds at a shooting range on his family's rural property near Clayton.
A steel projectile from his rifle hit a rock and caused a spark that ignited dry grass Sept. 8, authorities said.
The fire along Morgan Territory Road was initially contained by firefighters, prosecutors said. But winds kicked up a second "spot fire" 1,000 feet away that got out of control, spread to Mount Diablo State Park and eventually burned 3,111 acres.
The blaze, known as the Morgan Fire, rampaged for four days, sending a large plume of smoke over the East Bay and blackening the south face of the mountain. More than 1,100 firefighters worked to the put down the flames.
"We are fully aware of the tremendous harm to property and the environment caused by the fire," District Attorney Mark Peterson said in a prepared statement. "However, in the final analysis, the key legal question is whether it was reasonably foreseeable that discharging a firearm in this area under these circumstances would cause a fire."
While using a rifle on private property is legal, some residents on Morgan Territory Road questioned whether it was wise to be shooting on such a hot day. Temperatures that afternoon were in the 90s with low humidity, and the East Bay hills were parched after a year of record-low rainfall.
Peterson said the target shooter attempted to extinguish the blaze, directed a family member to call 911 and cooperated with investigators.
Target shooting has caused major California wildfires before. In 2007, a blaze ignited by gunfire threatened Yosemite National Park, burning 34,000 acres and destroying 30 homes in Mariposa County.
The shooter in that case was given three years' probation, community service and a $541 fine.
Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @kurtisalexander
Copyright 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle
