CAL FIRE investigates use of private firefighters at Glass Fire
(Photo courtesy Fairfield Fire Department)
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more commonly known as CAL FIRE, is investigating claims that private firefighters performed illegal actions to protect homes and other property that was threatened by the Glass Fire.
CAL FIRE’s law enforcement division is investigating the claims, which include allegations that privately-contracted firefighters lit several illegal backfires during the blaze.
The investigation was first reported on Thursday by the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.
A CAL FIRE spokesperson declined to say where the backfires allegedly took place and would not say when or where the private firefighters were caught. That information will be released at the end of the agency’s investigation, the spokesperson said.
Private firefighters are often contracted by private homeowners, insurance companies and others to protect property that may be threatened by wildfires. Their use has increased over the years as the state has faced an increase in dangerous and destructive wildfires.
Contract firefighters are required to obtain permission from state and local firefighting authorities before they enter an active fire zone, must clear their activities with incident commanders and are not allowed to use fire as a preventative tool.
“We don’t generally have issues with them,” CAL FIRE spokesperson Scott McLean told the Chronicle. “But we stand our ground.”
The Glass Fire has been burning in Napa and Sonoma counties since late September. Tens of thousands of residents there have been displaced since the fire broke out.
Several fire agencies from across Northern California — including personnel from Solano County — have been dispatched to provide mutual aid there. Crews from Fairfield and Vallejo remain on scene today.
As of Thursday, the fire had burned over 67,000 acres and was 66 percent contained. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
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