CrimeBeat: Does Cal Fire have police officers?

I saw someone from Cal Fire in a Cal Fire truck with a Cal Fire shirt on, ?but underneath he wore a bulletproof vest with “Police” on it.?Is this a conflict of interest?

There’s no conflict of interest. To help combat wildfires that cost California taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, Cal Fire employs more than 300 peace officers throughout the state.

“We don’t try to hide, but the nature of our business is anonymity,” said Capt. Gary Uboldi, a Cal Fire law enforcement official based in St. Helena.

Cal Fire calls its law enforcement

branch the Prevention Bureau, and officers in the unit function much like the California Highway Patrol, with a jurisdiction running from Oregon to the Mexican border, with the same ability to conduct investigations and make arrests. All officers begin as firefighters and have risen to the rank of captain, Uboldi said.

The bureau is responsible for enforcing fire and forestry laws throughout the state, but officers also go to fire lines and investigate the charred wake of a wildfires to snoop out the culprit.

“We’re definitely doing a good job because we keep putting arsonists away,” Uboldi said.

Outside of investigating the cause of fires and making arrests when necessary, Cal Fire law officers educate people on risky behavior that could inadvertently spark a devastating blaze. Officers patrol high-risk fire areas to stop people from engaging in dangerous activities.

Often it’s as simple as telling people not to mow lawns, weeds and brush with motorized equipment in the midday heat, Uboldi said. Most times, interactions don’t lead to tickets.

“We prefer to educate instead of writing citations,” Uboldi said. “It gets the message across much better by not taking legal action.”

Most wildfires in California are preventable, Uboldi said, and the work of the Prevention Bureau saves the state millions of dollars by stopping fires before they start.

Cal Fire officers also bring money in. When an investigation leads to the identification of the person who caused the wildfire through negligent or criminal action, the culprit is forced to pay the costs of fire suppression, Uboldi said.