A California firefighter has been arrested on suspicion of arson in a series of small fires that have ravaged wine country in recent weeks, authorities said Friday.
Robert Hernandez, 38, was accused of starting five fires between Aug. 15 and Sept. 14 while off-duty, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said in a news release.
Hernadez, a Cal Fire engineer, is believed to have started the blazes around Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor, the department said.
The combined fires burned less than an acre of wildland, the department said, noting that the fires were extinguished thanks to “quick actions by residents and firefighting resources.”
“I am appalled to learn that one of our employees would violate the public 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 land. He was held on $2 million bail, records show.
It was not immediately clear whether he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
The area where Hernandez is believed to have started the fires, just north of San Francisco, has seen devastating wildfires in the past decade, including the 2017 Tubbs Fire that killed 22 people and burned nearly 6,000 homes and businesses.
Three years later, the Glass Fire has damaged or destroyed nearly 3,000 buildings, according to Cal Fire.
More than 4 million acres burned across the state in 2020, setting a record for the most acres burned in California in modern times, the department said.
So far this year, nearly a million acres have burned, including fast-moving fires in Southern California that have threatened tens of thousands of homes and prompted thousands of evacuations in the foothills of San Bernardino County.
