The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office filed felony charges Friday against a Bell Canyon ranch and two ranch employees in connection with the Zaca Fire.

The charges came as the fire was winding down, with the blaze holding at 95 percent containment Friday.

Jose Jesus Cabrera, 38, of Santa Ynez; Santiago Iniguez Cervantes, 46, of Santa Maria; and Rancho La Laguna LLC were charged with three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury to three victims - Chris Bocim, Antonio Hurtado and Rick Pizzorno.

Cabrera and Cervantes were reportedly grinding metal to repair a water pipeline when a spark from the operation ignited the fire July 4.

Bocim and Pizzorno suffered minor injuries July 8 in a helicopter crash while fighting the fire, and Hurtado broke both legs on July 19 when his truck crashed off the side of Figueroa Mountain while he was supporting firefighting efforts.

The CH-54A helicopter that Bocim and Pizzorno were in was operated by Heavy Lift Helicopters Inc., based in Apple Valley, and was under contract with Cal Fire.

Hurtado, of Lompoc, was driving a truck for MarBorg Industries, a company that was providing portable restrooms and trash service to the firefighters battling the Zaca Fire.

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Cabrera, Cervantes and Rancho La Laguna were also charged with a felony count of recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest, according to information from the District Attorney's Office.

The defendants are facing special allegations applied to the four charges that a firefighter, peace officer or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury as a result of the offense, and that the defendants proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in any single violation of unlawfully causing a fire with great bodily injury.

Cabrera, Cervantes and Rancho La Laguna are also facing less serious charges of carelessness with a flaming substance, which is a misdemeanor Health and Safety Code violation, and failure to secure a Hot Work Permit in violation of Santa Barbara County Code and its incorporated California Fire Code, an infraction.

Cabrera and Cervantes could spend up to nine years in state prison and six months in county jail if convicted of the violations. The business could face fines and probation, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Jerry Lulejian.

The suspects were never arrested but rather were given notices to appear for arraignment Sept. 20 in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Lulejian said.

A firefighting official, who asked not to be named, said Cabrera and Cervantes were employees of Rancho La Laguna.

Lulejian, the prosecutor on the case, said Friday he would not discuss the facts of the case until sentencing - if the defendants are convicted and sentenced for the crimes.

“It's to protect people's rights to a fair trial,” he said.

Lulejian said Rancho La Laguna would be considered a “person” for purposes of the prosecution of the case. However, the ranch would only face fines and probation as a possible means of punishment. Probation would consist of monitoring the corporation, Lulejian said.

“It's hard to put a corporation in jail,” he said. “So jail time does not apply, obviously.”

Lawyer Bob Sanger said he will represent Cabrera in the case. The other defendants were still in the process of acquiring counsel, Sanger said Friday.

Sanger said Cabrera, who was operating the grinder, and Cervantes, who was assisting with the operation, cleared the area around where they were working and had a water source on hand.

They were attempting to fix a pipe so that water would flow to a trough for cattle, he said.

When a spark lit the area on fire, the men tried to put the fire out with water from the trough, attempted to call for help on a cell phone that wouldn't work, and tried to stop a passing motorist for assistance, Sanger said.

“They took precautions. Sparks flew farther than anybody thought it would,” he said.

“My take on this is that it's an accident,” Sanger said.

He said the extent to which the fire spread could not be blamed on the men but rather involved a number of decisions made by the government.

“There's a long way between that spark and that happening,” he said.

The Zaca Fire remained close to containment Friday, while smaller fires in the Los Padres National Forest garnered more attention than the cooling giant. Officials expect the fire will be contained by Tuesday.

The Mine Fire had burned 8 to 10 acres just south of McPherson Peak, while the Miguel Fire had burned 175 acres in southern Monterey County near the Army's Fort Hunter Liggett, said Zaca Fire Information Officer Larry Comerford.

The Mine Fire was started by lightning, and while the cause of the Miguel Fire had not been determined Friday evening, Comerford said it began in an area where there was lightning.

“Zaca's been kind of cool,” Comerford said. “They've got a few hot spots within the interior.”

He said he doubted the Mine Fire would merge with the Zaca Fire, “because Zaca's pretty much taken all the vegetation out.”

There were no changes in road closures Friday around the Zaca Fire, Comerford said.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamariatimes.com.

September 1, 2007