Cal Fire called into question about mismanagement of funds

More than $3.5 million the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spent on training and new equipment should have gone into California’s cash-strapped general fund, according to a new audit.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the money, obtained over the years from legal settlements, was parked in a fund controlled by the nonprofit California District Attorneys Association.

An audit released Thursday by the state Finance Department says Cal Fire was required to turn the money over to the general fund.

Auditors also say Cal Fire tracked the money so poorly that some of it could have been lost.

Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott says his agency believed it had the authority to place the money in the fund, as long as it was spent for “proper purposes.”