2 men plead no contest for 2007 Calif. fire that destroyed 53 homes, injured 6 firefighters

2 men plead no contest to 2007 Calif. fire charges

LOS ANGELES — Two California men have pleaded no contest to felony charges for a 2007 wildfire in Malibu that destroyed 53 homes, damaged 23 others and injured six firefighters.

Twenty-four-year-old Brian Alan Anderson and 25-year-old William Thomas Coppock entered their pleas Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Van Nuys.

They were charged with recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury and recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure.

The two are likely to be sentenced to a year in jail and five years of probation.

Anderson and Coppock were two of five men charged in connection with the wildfire that began with a bonfire ignited during high winds on Nov. 24, 2007. One man was sentenced to probation. Cases against two others are pending.