According to his own recounting, at approximately 10:40 p.m. on August 14, 2021, Mark Matthews comes upon the base of a 3-5 acre wildfire burning in the Cosumnes river drainage not far from the Dogtown Creek convergence. While he is the first to arrive at the scene, he and several firefighters have been searching for access to the fire since it was first reported at 6:51 pm that evening.

I reported on Matthews’ recounting of his experience several times in the winter and spring of 2022. Through his written statement we learned that, after struggling with a tree fallen across an old logging road, Matthews reached an area near a swimming hole and popular campsite on the southern shore of the Cosumnes.

When he arrives, he writes, he notices several bullet casings, some of which appear fresh to him. He states that he picked up a casing and smelled freshly-burnt gun powder inside it, suggesting a relation to the case. He further describes several other footprints and ATV tracks in the area.

A summary written by CalFire Investigator, Erik Fiedler states that he interviewed Mark Matthews about his account on August 17, 2021, three days after the fire was first reported. That summary roughly aligned with Matthews own written statement.

Since writing that article in 2022 I have long wondered about the casings Matthews’ purportedly discovered that night, particularly the one he picked up and smelled. What did Fiedler ask about the casing in his interview with Matthews? What did Matthews do with it? Where did he put it? Where is that casing now?

For the first time this week I was given the opportunity to review Fiedler’s August 17 interview with Matthews. While I am unable to publish the recording itself my sources have agreed to allow me to listen to it in full, and write about it.

The recording is less than 20 minutes long. The interaction sounds as if it took place outside, with passing traffic heard in the background.

At the beginning of the recording it’s apparent a conversation between Matthews and Fiedler is already ongoing. Matthews can be heard saying he’s “not a happy camper with the forest service right now.” Fiedler responds, “So which road did you take to get down there?” They seem to be discussing the roads that should be used to access the location of the origin’s fire.

After discussing the best access route Matthews states, “I’ll tell you why I think the fire started down there.”

“A bunch….a bunch of fresh brass. I’ve been involved in weaponsaAll my life. They weren’t dead…basically you could smell, when you take them up you could smell the freshness. You know, there’s a distinct smell between the freshness, and been there. I lot of fresh brass,” Matthews says to Fiedler. He’s describing the smell of freshly-spent casings, and then describes two casings in particular that he says still had the rounds attached.

He goes on to say he saw footprints and ATV tracks in the area, some of which he believed to be fresh because they were imprinted in the retardant just dropped from fixed-wing aircraft.

Fiedler responds by asking if Matthews saw anyone in the area, to which Matthews replies, “no.”

From this point in the interview forward, the discussion is focused on the best way to access the fire’s origin area. Fiedler produces a map, to which Matthews points out which logging and forest roads could be used for access. As Matthews gives directions, Fiedler asks three more times if Matthews saw anyone when he arrived at fire, with Matthews replying “no” each time.

The interview closes with Matthews making a joke about being exhausted after firefighting for the past three days. “Could you guys arrest me so I can go get some rest?” Fiedler laughs and tells Matthews to get some rest soon.

What is striking about the interview is less about what Matthews says, and more about what Fiedler doesn’t say, or ask. At no time does Fiedler ask about the casings Matthews discovered. He doesn’t ask for descriptions. He doesn’t ask Matthews to describe where they were found, even while looking at maps together. He doesn’t ask Matthews what he did with the casings after smelling them, and Matthews never mentions it. At no point does Fiedler ask a single questions related to the casings examined by Matthews.

Days later, Fiedler writes a summary of the interview stating, “When he (Matthews) was looking around he noticed 9mm bullet casings that appeared to be relatively new.” He does not mention the casings Matthews examined, nor the ones he smelled. There is no mention of what Matthews did with the casings he picked up.

In Matthews written statement, however, he mentions that, after smelling a casing, he ‘returned’ it to the place he found it. He doesn’t state why he did so, nor whether he made any attempt to preserve this evidence which he deemed crucial to the investigation.

In December 2021, David and Shane Smith were arrested and charged with recklessly starting the Caldor Fire, by then one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Subsequent bail documents state the DA’s belief that the fire was started by the Smiths shooting firearms, citing casings found by “agents” in the course of the investigation.

We have since learned that casings gathered from the scene were tested and none matched any of the Smiths firearms. It remains unclear if the casing or casings Matthews purportedly examined were included in those tests, nor is it clear whether those casings were ever examined at all.

With the reckless arson charges against the Smiths dropped by an El Dorado County judge due to lack of probable cause, more details and pieces of evidence are emerging in this case. I will continue to dig through the reports and witness, summarizing everything here for you in a (hopefully) easy-to-read format. There is much more to come on Matthews, the Smiths, and the hot fragment theory.

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.