“Arson by firefighters”: Cal Fire employee arrested for alleged arson; agency chief reacts

Amid a sad year for wildfires in the state, 38-year-old Robert Hernandez, an equipment engineer with Cal Fire, was accused of setting fire to forest land near towns such as Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor between August 15 and September 14.

According to multiple reports, Hernandez's alleged actions in the Northern California city of Healdsburg did not result in any major incidents, as residents and other firefighters put out the fire before the incident affected the area. Cal Fire said those fires burned less than an acre of land in total. Hernandez apparently started five fires while he was off-duty.

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Cal Fire responds to employee allegedly responsible for 'arson by firefighters'

Joe Tyler, director and fire chief of Cal Fire, commented on the arsonist's alleged misconduct on Friday despite his job as a firefighter: “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.”

Robert Hernandez is charged with six felony counts and is being held on $2 million bail, the New York Times reports. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

This case of “arson by firefighters” is another of the cases where other areas in California have burned this year. Remarkably, nearly 400,000 acres of land – about three times as much as last year – were affected by the disaster.

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A few hours ago, Cal Fire announced a joint venture whose goal is to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve urban forests, build climate resilience, and provide green career opportunities to underserved communities.” The state's premier fire agency tweeted: “Great news for California's urban forests! As part of this joint venture, CAL FIRE and @forestservice are awarding nearly $31 million to 22 projects under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2024.”