Fireman Charged in 3 California Wildfires

A U.S. Forest Service firefighter was charged Wednesday with setting three fires that destroyed 800 acres in the Los Padres National Forest during the peak of fire season this year, authorities said.

Craig Matthew Underwood, 31, who lives near Greenfield within the forest’s boundaries, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on three felony charges in a San Jose federal court.

If convicted, he faces five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation for each count.

Underwood was being held in a Santa Clara County jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 17.

“I am shocked by this development,” Gloria Brown, supervisor of the Los Padres forest, said in a statement.

“The thought that any firefighter might have done such a reprehensible thing sickens all of us [in] the Los Padres National Forest. If the investigation determines that one of our firefighters did indeed do this, then we will take extremely strong action.”

Authorities suspected arson after finding the tag for a Kmart towel at the scene of the first fire.

Witnesses saw a red pickup truck with oversized tires speeding from the scene of the second blaze, authorities said.

Surveillance equipment captured the license plate number, which was traced to Underwood, said Luke T. Macaulay of the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco.

His truck and home were placed under surveillance by investigators, who included Forest Service officials and agents of the Inspector General’s Office, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Authorities said Underwood set the Memorial fire July 28, the Slide fire Aug. 15, and the Fred’s fire Sept. 22.

The blazes, which burned in the Arroyo Seco area of the national forest west of Greenfield, cost $2.5 million to extinguish, officials said.

The Fred’s fire was the most destructive of the three, consuming more than 750 acres and taking firefighters five days to extinguish at a cost of $2 million, authorities said.

Associated Press contributed to this report.