California firefighter arrested for allegedly starting 5 wildfires

By Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — A Cal Fire firefighter was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of starting five separate wildfires in the state within the last six weeks.

The fire apparatus engineer, Robert Hernandez, 38, was arrested by Cal Fire Law Enforcement officers at a fire station in Mendocino County, California, on suspicion of “arson to forest land,” according to a news release from the agency.

“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,” Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler said in the release, noting residents’ “vigilance” had helped the agency catch Hernandez.

Hernandez is suspected of starting five separate fires on purpose, while off duty, between August 15 and September 14, the release said. All the fires were in Sonoma County.

Quick actions by residents and fire suppression teams kept the damages from those fires minimal, Cal Fire said, as the combined fires only burned one acre of land.

Hernandez is facing five counts of arson to forest land and is being held on a $2 million bail, Sonoma County Jail records show. It is unclear if Hernandez has obtained an attorney.

The National Volunteer Fire Council noted there is no national data collection system for firefighter arson cases, according to a 2016 report.

“Without an official source for data on firefighter arsonists, researchers, fire service leaders, and investigators are forced to extrapolate based upon samples of known cases,” the report said. “A survey of news articles suggest that over 100 firefighters a year are arrested for arson.”

Earlier this month, a 34-year-old man was arrested in connection to the ongoing Line Fire in San Bernardino County. He faces nine charges, including counts related to arson causing more than $7 million in damages, causing great bodily injury to a firefighter who suffered a broken ankle and the destruction of a home in the Running Springs community, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said.

As of September 1, Cal Fire law enforcement officers have arrested 91 suspected arsonists this year, the agency said. Since 2016, Cal Fire has arrested 923 suspected arsonists.

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