In a shocking turn of events, a California state firefighter was arrested on suspicion of arson last week in Sacramento, California. The firefighter, identified as Robert Hernandez, had a criminal record dating back to a DUI felony and had previously served time as an inmate firefighter. The charges against Hernandez include setting fires in Sonoma and Mendocino counties in August and September, as revealed in court records released on Tuesday.

Hernandez, 38, had begun his firefighting career in the inmate firefighter program after being convicted of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in San Bernardino. He spent six years in custody before being released in December 2022, with his record stricken off. He had served as a firefighter at the Owens Valley Conservation Camp, a facility jointly managed by Cal Fire and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in an effort to help inmates shorten their sentences through firefighting work.

The case has cast a shadow over Cal Fire and the inmate fire camps amidst one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent years, with over one million acres scorched so far. The Newsom administration had invested significantly in bolstering Cal Fire's resources, especially with a reduction in inmate firefighters due to criminal justice reforms. The administration had even passed a law in 2020 allowing certain inmates in firefighter camps to expunge their records for easier job opportunities in fire departments.