California firefighter accused of sparking blazes in the state’s wine country

By Rich McKay

(Reuters) – A California firefighter has been arrested and accused of setting five blazes in the state’s wine country, even as his fellow firefighters battle flames that have consumed almost a million acres and forced thousands of evacuations in the state this year.

Robert Matthew Hernandez, a 38-year-old fire apparatus engineer of Healdsburg, California, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of arson.

He was accused of setting 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.

“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,” Joe Tyler, the agency’s director and fire chief, said in a statement to media.

It was not immediately clear if Hernandez had retained a lawyer.

Hernandez allegedly ignited the blazes in Sonoma County, known for its wines and vineyards. The fires were all extinguished by fire crews and burned less than one acre combined, according to the fire agency.

A Cal Fire spokesperson said the agency would not provide further details at this time. A motive was unclear.

Hernandez was formally charged with five counts of arson to forest land. He was being held in lieu of $2 million bail in the Sonoma County Jail on Saturday, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Wildfires are still raging across the state.

Three blazes in mountains around Los Angeles, the second-largest U.S. city, have destroyed more than 230 houses and other structures, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate suburbs and towns since Sept. 5.

California wildfires have so far this year burned nearly four times as much land as last year at this time when the state’s fire season was more benign, according to Cal Fire data.

Bone-dry vegetation amid record heat blamed on climate change has been making fires worse, according to climate scientists.

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Matthew Lewis)