Cal Fire kept $3.6 million from state's treasury, records show

◼ The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection hid $3.6 million from legal settlements rather than depositing it into the state’s cash-strapped general fund as required, interviews and documents reviewed by The Times show. - LA Times

For seven years, Cal Fire placed the money with the nonprofit California District Attorneys Assn., paying the group to hold it. Cal Fire used the cash for equipment purchases and training purposes.

The practice ended last year amid questions about whether the fund was legal.

After questions from The Times last week, Cal Fire director Ken Pimlott notified the state Department of Natural Resources and state Department of Finance about the existence of the fund. The Department of Finance is planning an investigation.

That probe follows revelations that the state Department of Parks and Recreation hid $20 million as parks were being closed because of budget cuts. In the wake of the parks department scandal, the Department of Finance looked for secret funds in other departments but did not find Cal Fire’s account with the prosecutors’ association, a spokesman said.

Auditors found more than $200 million that agencies had squirreled away as lawmakers cut the state budget.

The Cal Fire fund is just the latest discovery of money hidden by California agencies and raises questions about whether there are others that like this one were entirely off the state books.