Two days after the December 2021 arrests of David and Shane Smith, the two men accused by the El Dorado County District Attorney of recklessly starting the Caldor Fire, I received information from sources close to the investigation regarding a key witness. Michael Patrick, known to many locals as “Miner Mike,” had been camping on his gold mining claim in Dogtown Creek less than a half mile from the fire’s ignition. I knew immediately he would become a key witness in the DA’s case against the Smiths.

My sources shared summary excerpts of interviews conducted with Patrick by investigators. Those excerpts stated that Patrick and his mining partner saw a man and another individual, later identified as the Smiths, drive past Patrick’s campsite at approximately 6:20 pm on August 14, 2021. The side-by-side proceeded across Dogtown Creek, drove up the ridge South towards the middle fork of the Cosumnes River, and disappeared out of sight. Patrick heard several gunshots and minutes later the Smiths returned. Shane, the driver of the side-by-side, then stopped to warn Patrick about a fire on the other side of the ridge.

When my sources shared these excerpts with me I was unable to obtain an actual transcript or recording of these interviews. In the following months I learned CalFire Investigator Erik Fiedler and El Dorado County District Attorney Supervising Investigator Joe Ramsey also conducted an interview with Patrick. I obtained a short summary of that interview, but again I was never able to find a recording.

Two years later, in November and December of 2023, pretrial hearings began to determine whether there was enough evidence to take the Smiths to trial, a standard practice in California courts. It was confirmed that Fiedler and Ramsey indeed interviewed Patrick on August 24, 2021, likely making this the first time the witness was interviewed. It also became clear that Patrick, and his mining partner, were the sole witnesses who saw the Smiths and heard gunshots in the Dogtown Creek area the evening the fire was first reported.

As the hearings began I was eager to hear from Fiedler and Ramsey about their interview with Patrick. I imagined we would learn exactly what Patrick saw and heard when he encountered the Smiths that fateful evening. Finally, I thought, these investigators will recount those critical minutes leading up to the Smiths’ 911 call, as told to them by their key witness.

I was wrong.

When the defense attorneys asked Ramsey to describe the August 24 interview with Patrick his answer shocked many in the court: He couldn’t recall the interview taking place. After being presented with the summary showing he took part in the interview, Ramsey stated he didn’t remember the event because Fiedler was leading the questions and Ramsey may not have been paying attention. Defense attorney Linda Parisi asked, “So you’re a blank slate?” Ramsey replied, “Yes.”

It was a shocking moment.

When Fiedler took the stand he was able to describe the interview in general terms but was unable to recall several key details as the defense team questioned him, including whether the two investigators discussed Patrick after the interview ended.

With Fiedler unable to recall key details of the interview and Ramsey unable to recall the interview had even taken place, the defense attorneys requested a copy of the audio recording. The DA handed over the copy to the defense for the first time on December 22, 2023, two years and four months after the interview was conducted.

Of note, it appears the DA also had only the written summary of the interview until this time. According to the defense, the DA stated they “just got it” after asking the Forest Service for a copy of the recording in order to fulfill the defense attorneys’ request. The Forest Service has been in charge of managing all evidence related to the case since the investigation began.

The 45 minute recording opens with Fiedler and Ramsey locating Patrick. He is standing next to his vehicle somewhere in South Lake Tahoe. The date is August 24, 2021. In the previous 10 days the Caldor Fire displaced thousands of people as they sought safety from the flames. The community of Grizzly Flats had just been reduced to rubble. The fire had marched north and was spotting across Highway 50 between Kyburz and Twin bridges, well on it’s way to becoming one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history.

Upon introducing himself Fiedler reassures Patrick that he isn’t in any trouble and repeats the reassurance several times throughout the interview. Patrick readily agrees to talk. Ramsey is quiet at first and does not speak until 20 minutes into the recording.

Fiedler also states that he has been eager to speak with Patrick for some time. He says he had been searching for Patrick “all day” and “we have been looking for you for awhile.” Eventually the investigators were able to contact Patrick’s estranged wife who informed them of his whereabouts in Tahoe, according to the recording.

Early in the recording Patrick quickly shares his story from August 14, 2021. Some details of this story are later included in a summary report written by Fiedler, excerpts of which were then used as supportive evidence to secure the Smiths’ arrest warrants. As the recording goes on, however, it becomes apparent that several seemingly important details of Patrick’s account were not included in Fiedler’s summary.

According to Fiedler’s summary report, Patrick saw a side-by-side drive by his camp, heard 10-15 gunshots, and 20 minutes later the side-by-side returned at which time the driver, Shane Smith, told Patrick about a fire.

This summary contributed to the DA’s theory that the Smiths crossed Dogtown, drove up over the ridge to the south and continued down into the Cosumnes riverbed. There, investigators say, the Smiths began shooting firearms causing sparks which quickly led to fire developing in dry brush.

The summary, though, leaves out Patrick repeatedly stating that he heard the gunfire coming from atop the ridge between Dogtown and the Consumnes. At several moments in the interview he is adamant that the gunfire did not come from the river on the other side of the ridge. “It was on top, it was loud,” he says. He goes on about having camped at Dogtown for decades. “There’s people out there shooting all the time.” Because of this, he says, he knows the difference between the sound of gunfire from atop the ridge and gunfire from the river on the other side.

Since viewing the Smiths’ arrest warrant and bail motions, much of the public assumed Patrick heard the Smiths shooting near the swimming hole at the Cosumnes River. We now know Patrick believed the Smiths were shooting from atop the ridge farther towards his camp at Dogtown. While none of this exonerates the two men, it is a key detail that will interest anyone closely following this case.

Patrick also states that he regularly hears gunfire throughout the area. In fact, he says, he heard gunfire the morning of August 14 as well as the previous evening. In both incidents he describes the gunfire as coming from the other side of the ridge down at the Cosumness. He states there are several campsites at that location and wonders if one of these campers “left a campfire” burning. He states people often camp and shoot at that location and explains they access the area from Omo Ranch Road to the South. This, he says, is why he often can hear people past the ridge down in the river but does not see them if they have no reason to cross to his side of the ridge.

There are several key points in Patrick’s statement here. First, the summary states that while camping in the days leading up to the fire Patrick “had not seen anyone else pass the camp.” This gives the impression no one else was in the area, contradicting Patrick’s explanation that the person or people he heard on the other side of the ridge would have accessed the area from the south, a point he emphasized several times throughout the interview.

Second, there is little indication that Fiedler and Ramsey took interest in Patrick’s account of the gunfire he heard prior to the arrival of the Smiths. While Fiedler does ask what time Patrick heard gunfire that morning, the investigators move on from the topic after Patrick states the time was 9:00 am. No further questions were asked about this incident, and no questions were asked regarding the gunfire Patrick heard the previous evening.

This second point is important because of the DA’s “hot fragment” theory. At the probable cause hearings, studies were presented to illustrate the possibility that super-heated fragments from bullets hitting hard surfaces can land in dry brush and ignite fires. The same studies, however, suggest smoldering often occurs for hours or even days before flames are produced, even in the climate-controlled labs used in the research.

Knowing that others were in the area shooting in the hours and days prior to the Smiths arrival, and knowing that hot fragments can smolder in dry brush for days before igniting, presents the possibility another individual or individuals could have started this fire. While I cannot claim to have reviewed all research ever conducted in this arena, I have not been able to find a single study where hot fragments immediately caused a fire so large it could not be stomped out by a theoretical shooter.

Throughout these moments in the interview Patrick repeatedly comes back to his belief that campers “over there in the river” must have left a hot campfire unattended which led to the wildfire. At one point Fiedler tells Patrick they found no evidence of a campfire. When Patrick expresses skepticism Fiedler states, “We didn’t find any remnants of a campfire” and “not a recent one.” This exchange makes clear investigators had ruled out the campfire theory within 10 days of the fires ignition. I will have more on the viability of the campfire theory in future posts.

Patrick also tells investigators that because he doesn’t have a smartphone and has no way to get online or read the news, he doesn’t know the status of Grizzly Flats. In a heartbreaking moment, Patrick’s voice rises and cracks when Fiedler tells him the community is essentially “gone.”

Shocked by the news Patrick exclaims, “50 years out there and there’s never been a fire. Never.” This comment could have implications around the definition of reckless arson in California. Many locals using the area for recreational shooting on a daily basis for years with no consequences raises the question, If the Smiths were indeed shooting that day were they acting recklessly according to the law? What about those that were shooting that morning? What about the previous evening?

The legal definition of “reckless” is at the center of the judge’s decision to not move the Smiths to trial. I will have more on this in future posts as well.

Patrick’s interview doesn’t tell us whether or not the Smiths are responsible for starting the Caldor fire but it does offer key details critical to the ongoing investigation. It also reminds us the way in which the interview was summarized had a very real impact on the public’s perception of what Patrick did, or didn’t, see. Stating no one but the Smiths passed Patrick’s camp, while true, leaves out the repeated assertions that Patrick heard people shooting in the area the fire started in the hours and days leading up to the fire’s ignition.

The interview also raises critical questions of the investigators themselves. Ramsey and Fiedler spent days searching for their key witness during a horrific time in which El Dorado County continued to burn. Having finally found him the pair traveled to South Lake Tahoe where they finally questioned Patrick for nearly an hour. How is it possible Ramsey, a Supervising Investigator for the District Attorney, could not recall the interview taking place, much less any details from the interview itself? How could Fiedler, a Calfire Investigator, not recall whether they discussed Patrick afterwards?

Why did both men express such little interest in the shooters from the early morning of August 14 and the previous evening? Were any efforts made to identify them? Were homes canvassed along Omo Ranch Road to see if residents saw any vehicles coming in or out of the area? I have been unable to find any document or witness to suggest they were.

Why did Fiedler’s summary not make clear that Patrick believed the shooting came from atop the ridge, not in the Cosumnes where investigators believe the fire started?

The Caldor Fire shattered the lives of thousands across El Dorado County, and many were looking to the office of the District Attorney to understand how it all began. Whether you believe the responsibility lies with the Smiths or someone else the investigation has, objectively, been a failure. This is in addition to the immense challenge of gathering information related to the forest service’s initial response to the actual fire. I will continue pouring through the thousands of pages of documents, speaking to the dozens of witnesses, making the phone calls and writing the letters to do what I can to find the truth, even if that truth is broken into the smallest of pieces.

I am doing this work for free and all costs associated with my investigation are paid out of my own pocket. I am deeply appreciative of the many readers who donated to support this work back in 2021. If you would also like to leave a small donation you can do so via Venmo: @kjcmedianet or at buy me a coffee. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Below is a link to the 45 minute recording of Michael Patrick’s interview from August 24, 2021. TRIGGER WARNING: A few details from this recording could be disturbing to some, particularly those that were displaced or otherwise affected by the fire.

Click here to listen to the recording.