Retired Firefighter Is Named Director of State Forestry Agency

A career firefighter has been named director of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor’s office Friday announced the appointment of Dale Geldert to oversee the agency that regulates logging in private forests and is responsible for fire protection on 31 million acres of wild lands.

Geldert, 61, is a Republican resident of Oceanside who served as fire chief and deputy city manager there before retiring in 2002.

He began his career more than four decades ago and has held positions in a number of fire departments, including in Inglewood; Merced County; Vacaville, Calif.; and the U.S. State Department. He is a former member of the state forestry board and was a state forest ranger in the late 1980s.

Geldert’s appointment comes less than a year after wildfires swept through nearly 750,000 acres in Southern California, killing 26 people, destroying 3,600 homes and causing an estimated $2 billion in damage.

“It’s not particularly surprising that they chose someone with a fire background, particularly given the tragedy of last October,” said Paul Mason, who handles private forestry issues for the Sierra Club in California. “We were hoping for someone with stronger resource management experience, because there’s a clear relationship between fire danger and managing forest resources. Beyond that, I just don’t know a whole lot about him.”

Geldert, who must be confirmed by the state Senate, replaces Andrea Tuttle, director since 1999.

“I look forward to working within this administration to manage and protect California’s natural resources while ensuring superior fire protection for this great state,” Geldert said in a statement.

Schwarzenegger on Friday also announced the appointment of Palo Alto Fire Chief Ruben Grijalva, 49, as state fire marshal.