Firefighter from California allegedly set fires in wine-growing region

A California firefighter has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with a series of small fires in the wine region in recent weeks, officials said Friday.

Robert Hernandez, 38, was accused of setting five fires while off duty between August 15 and September 14, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said in a press release.

Hernadez, a Cal Fire equipment engineer, is believed to have started the fires around Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor, the fire department said.

Overall, the fires destroyed less than one hectare of wilderness area, the agency said. It noted that the fires were extinguished thanks to the “quick action of residents and firefighting resources.”

“I am appalled that one of our employees would abuse the public's trust and attempt to tarnish the tireless work of the 12,000 women and men of CAL FIRE,” department director Joe Tyler said in a statement.

Jail records show Hernandez is charged with five counts of arson on forest property. He was being held on $2 million bail, according to records.

It was not immediately clear whether he has a lawyer speaking on his behalf.

The region north of San Francisco, where Hernandez is believed to have started the fires, has seen devastating wildfires over the past decade, including the Tubbs Fire in 2017, which killed 22 people and burned nearly 6,000 homes and businesses.

Three years later, the Glass Fire damaged or destroyed nearly 3,000 buildings, according to Cal Fire.

In 2020, more than 4 million acres of land burned across the state, setting a record for the largest area burned in California in modern times, the agency said.

This year alone, nearly 100,000 acres of land have burned. Wildfires spread rapidly in Southern California, threatening tens of thousands of homes and forcing thousands of evacuations in the foothills of San Bernardino County.