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Robert Hernandez, 38, was arrested at the Howard Forest Fire
Station in Healdsburg, California, on suspicion of arson to
forest land, the state agency said in a statement.
Hernandez is an apparatus engineer with the agency, which
entails operating and maintaining fire engines and water tanks
during emergency responses.
Neither Cal Fire nor the union representing Cal Fire employees
would say Friday whether they know if he has retained an
attorney.
Cal Fire said Hernandez ignited the blazes while off duty
between Aug. 14 and Sept. 15 in forest land near Geyserville,
Healdsburg and Windsor.
The blazes combined burned less than an acre thanks to the quick
action of residents and firefighters, the agency said.
“I am appalled to learn one of our employees would violate the
public’s trust and attempt to tarnish the tireless work of the
12,000 women and men of CAL FIRE,” Cal Fire Director and Fire
Chief Joe Tyler said in the statement.
Ari Hirschfield, a Cal Fire spokesperson, said in an email that
the agency would not answer further questions about the arrest.
On Tuesday, a delivery driver pleaded not guilty to starting the
massive Line Fire on Sept. 5. The blaze forced the evacuation of
thousands of people east of Los Angeles, injured a firefighter
and destroyed a home.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, was charged with 11 arson-related
crimes, court records show.
Authorities said Halstenberg, of Norco, attempted to start three
fires within an hour. Two of the blazes were extinguished by
firefighters and a good Samaritan, and a third became the Line
Fire, which has charred 61 square miles (158 square kilometers)
in the San Bernardino mountains. It was 53% contained on Friday.
In July, a man was arrested on suspicion of starting the Park
Fire in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a
gully. Ronnie Dean Stout was charged with felony arson of an
inhabited structure or property. He pleaded not guilty.
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