Details Scant On Why RivCo Fire's Hawkins 'No Longer Chief'

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – Longtime Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins is no longer at the helm, relieved of duty for reasons that Cal Fire declined Monday to disclose.

"Chief Hawkins is no longer the chief, but because this is a personnel matter, I can't elaborate further," Deputy Chief Scott McLean told City News Service. "He is still employed with us, but I don't know yet in what capacity going forward."

Hawkins' last official day running the county fire department was Friday. He started as chief in August 2006 and has been a Cal Fire employee since the mid-1960s, according to McLean.

Riverside County Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Talbot will serve as interim chief until a permanent replacement for Hawkins can be found. McLean said all recruiting will be done internally.

"We will be initiating a search soon," he told CNS.

Whoever is selected by Cal Fire will have to be confirmed by the county Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, a former firefighter, on Friday expressed gratitude for Hawkins' service.

"He has led our county (and many parts of the state) through terrible wildland fires, floods, tough budgets and severe growing pains," Jeffries said in a Facebook post. "I wish him well with his new position in Cal Fire."

The board had no say in Hawkins' removal, but it's expected the supervisors will comment on the matter during their regular meeting Tuesday.

Hawkins has made regular appearances before the board over the course of his career.

He was thrust into public view during the Esperanza wildfire south of Cabazon in October 2006 -- about two months after taking the top spot in the fire department. The 40,000-acre blaze, which was intentionally set, killed six federal firefighters, and Hawkins was among those who early on expressed confidence in the case against Raymond Lee Oyler, the Beaumont mechanic ultimately convicted and sentenced to death for the killings.

The chief was often on the receiving end of complaints from board members regarding the Cal Fire administration fee and other costs imposed on the county by the agency for the use of state personnel, who make up the bulk of firefighters deployed countywide.

The fire department, like the balance of the county's public safety assets, has repeatedly struggled with budget deficits since the Great Recession, and Hawkins has endeavored to ferret out savings wherever possible. He even reluctantly backed the shuttering of fire stations to save money, though most closures have been avoided.

Not all of the chief's actions have gained praise. When the city of Canyon Lake found itself unable to pay for fire services in 2015, officials blamed Hawkins and others for being unwilling to compromise on rates and offer a staffing solution that the gated municipality could afford. The discord led to a county lawsuit and closure of Canyon Lake's only firehouse.

The case was settled out of court, and the fire station was reactivated last summer, with a reduction in staffing.

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--City News Service/Image via Riverside County Fire