A California forestry and fire protection employee has been arrested for allegedly igniting five brush fires in northern California over the past few weeks. Robert Hernandez, 38, was taken into custody on Friday at the Howard Forest fire station in Healdsburg. He faces charges of arson to forest land.
Hernandez works as an apparatus engineer, responsible for operating and maintaining fire engines and water tanks during emergencies. According to Cal Fire, he started the fires while off duty between August 14 and September 15 in areas near Geyserville, Healdsburg, and Windsor. Fortunately, the fires burned less than an acre, thanks to the prompt response from local residents and firefighters.
Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler expressed his disappointment, stating, “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 has not provided information on whether Hernandez has hired an attorney. The agency has also declined to answer further questions about the arrest.
In a separate incident, a delivery driver named Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, pleaded not guilty this week to charges related to the Line Fire, which began on September 5 and forced thousands of evacuations near Los Angeles. Halstenberg faces 11 arson-related charges after attempting to start three fires in quick succession, resulting in one major blaze that has burned 61 square miles in the San Bernardino Mountains and is currently 53% contained.
Earlier this year, Ronnie Dean Stout was arrested for starting the Park Fire in northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully. He also pleaded not guilty to felony arson charges.
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