Richard Ernest; State Forestry Dept. Director

Richard Ernest, director of the state Department of Forestry, died Wednesday night after suffering an apparent heart attack.

Ernest was 55 and was asleep at his home in Rocklin near Sacramento when his wife, Blanche, heard him moaning and “saw that he was in trouble,” said Forestry Department spokeswoman Karen Terrill.

He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. “He never regained consciousness, apparently,” Terrill said.

An autopsy was scheduled to determine the precise cause of death.

Ernest started as a seasonal firefighter in 1951 when he was 17 and was the first to rise through the ranks to head the department. He died less than nine months after his appointment by Gov. George Deukmejian, who had named him to replace retiring director Jerry Partain.

During his career, Ernest served as an aerial patrolman, fire prevention officer, chief of the ranger unit in San Benito and Monterey counties, and assistant chief of the department’s fire prevention program.

“California has lost a truly dedicated, professional servant in the noblest sense of the word. He will be profoundly missed by us all,” said Harold Walt, chairman of the state Board of Forestry.

The Forestry Department is responsible for protecting more than 37 million acres of California wild lands. It has a force of 3,000 employees and 2,000 seasonal workers available to battle wildfires.