Firefighter, 38, is arrested after being accused of very surprising crime

A California firefighter has been arrested by 1 of their ain aft helium was accused of mounting 5 blazes successful the state's vino state successful caller weeks.

Robert Matthew Hernandez, a 38-year-old occurrence apparatus technologist of Healdsburg, California, was arrested connected Friday by Cal Fire instrumentality enforcement officers connected suspicion of arson astatine the Howard Forest Fire Station successful Mendocino County.

His apprehension comes adjacent arsenic his chap firefighters proceed to conflict flames that person consumed astir a cardinal acres and forced thousands of evacuations successful the authorities this year.

Hernandez was accused of mounting 5 fires betwixt August 15 and September 14 portion off-duty successful wood onshore adjacent Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

They include the Alexander Fire connected August 15; the Windsor River Road Fire connected September 8; the Geysers Fire connected September 12; and the Geyser and Kinley fires connected September 14.  

'I americium appalled to larn 1 of our employees would interruption the public's spot and effort to tarnish the tireless enactment of the 12,000 women and men of Cal Fire,' Joe Tyler, the agency's manager and occurrence chief, said successful a statement.

Hernandez allegedly ignited the blazes successful Sonoma County, known for its wines and vineyards. 

The fires were each extinguished by occurrence crews and burned little than 1 acre combined thanks to the speedy enactment of residents and firefighters, according to the occurrence agency.

It was down to the 'vigilance' of residents that the bureau was capable to assistance drawback Hernandez. 

A Cal Fire spokesperson said the bureau would not supply further details astatine this clip and said that immoderate motive was unclear.

Hernandez is an apparatus technologist with the agency, which entails operating and maintaining occurrence engines and h2o tanks during exigency responses. 

He was formally charged with 5 counts of arson to wood land. Hernandez was being held successful lieu of $2 cardinal bail successful the Sonoma County Jail connected Saturday, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. Hernandez is expected successful tribunal connected Tuesday.

His estranged wife, who did not privation to springiness her sanction said she was 'speechless' to larn astir the allegations. 

'I'm 100 percent successful shock,' she told ABC7. 'It's a pugnacious pill to swallow for each of us,' 

Division Chief Cyndi Foreman of the Sonoma County Fire District said: 'That's idiosyncratic that's expected to beryllium retired successful the assemblage protecting us. But they're really putting america each astatine risk.' 

Meanwhile, wildfires are inactive raging crossed the state.

Three blazes successful mountains astir Los Angeles person destroyed much than 230 houses and different structures, forcing tens of thousands of radical to evacuate suburbs and towns since September 5.

California wildfires person truthful acold this twelvemonth burned astir 4 times arsenic overmuch onshore arsenic past twelvemonth astatine this clip erstwhile the state's occurrence play was much benign, according to Cal Fire data.

Bone-dry vegetation amid grounds vigor blamed connected clime alteration has been making fires worse, according to clime scientists.

The National Volunteer Fire Council notes however determination is nary nationalist information postulation strategy for firefighter arson cases.

'Without an authoritative root for information connected firefighter arsonists, researchers, occurrence work leaders, and investigators are forced to extrapolate based upon samples of known cases,' the report said. 'A survey of quality articles suggest that implicit 100 firefighters a twelvemonth are arrested for arson.'

As of September 1, Cal Fire instrumentality enforcement officers person arrested 91 suspected arsonists this year, the bureau said. 

Last Tuesday, a transportation operator pleaded not guilty to starting the monolithic Line Fire connected Sepember. 5. The blaze forced the evacuation of thousands of radical eastbound of Los Angeles, injured a firefighter and destroyed a home.

Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, was charged with 11 arson-related crimes, tribunal records show.

Authorities said Halstenberg, of Norco, attempted to commencement 3 fires wrong an hour.

Two of the blazes were extinguished by firefighters and a bully Samaritan, and a 3rd became the Line Fire, which has charred 61 quadrate miles successful the San Bernardino mountains. It was 60 percent contained connected Saturday.

In July, a antheral was arrested connected suspicion of starting the Park Fire in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully. 

Ronnie Dean Stout was charged with felony arson of an inhabited operation oregon property. He pleaded not guilty.