Summary
- The CBS drama series Fire Country, which revolves around prisoners assisting Cal Fire, has been criticized by the real Cal Fire for not accurately depicting the department's operations in California.
- The director of Cal Fire expressed his disdain for Fire Country's portrayal in an email, stating that the show is a misrepresentation of the professional fire department and resource protection agency that Cal Fire is.
- The cast and crew of Fire Country acknowledged that they were making a fictional TV series and understood the need to dramatize certain aspects of the fire department for entertainment, despite their disappointment with Cal Fire's response.
Fire Country revolves around a group of prisoners assisting the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, aka Cal Fire, via the California Conservation Camp Program. Cal Fire is a real-life fire department on the West Coast that protects millions of acres of forests. However, of Cal Fire have publicly denounced the CBS drama series' interpretation of their program, making it known that the show is not an authentic depiction of how the group operates in California.
The main protagonist of Fire Country is Bode Leone, played by Max Thieriot, who is one of the inmates looking to shorten his prison sentence by volunteering for Cal Fire. The rest of the cast includes Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez, Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford, Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez, Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards, Diane Farr as Sharon Leone, and Billy Burke as Vince Leone. Following the premiere of the Fire Country trailer in May 2022, the cast and crew came under scrutiny when the real Cal Fire called out the show for its accuracy.
Why The Real Cal Fire Criticized Fire Country's Accuracy
According to The Los Angeles Times, the director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Joe Tyler, expressed his disdain for Fire Country's portrayal of Cal Fire in an email. Even though he had only seen the trailer for the CBS action drama series, Tyler was unhappy with how the cast and crew were going to depict the notable fire department. He wrote, "This television series is a misrepresentation of the professional all-hazards fire department and resource protection agency that Cal Fire is."
The cast and crew of Fire Country were obviously disappointed with Cal Fire's response to the show. However, they acknowledged that they were making a fictional television series, not a documentary. Of course, some aspects of the fire department had to be dramatized for the sake of entertainment. Whatever the case, the show had a successful first season, and CBS renewed Fire Country for season 2 prior to the 2023 writers and actors strikes.
Fire Country Failed Lawsuit Attempt Explained
Unfortunately, Joe Tyler was not the only individual involved with the real-life Cal Fire who felt this way about Fire Country. Tim Edwards, the president of the Cal Fire union, also wrote, "I want to emphasize that we were not involved in the creation or production of the show, and we do not endorse the series. We have spoken with our legal team, and we cannot prevent the series from airing or using the Cal Fire name."
Cal Fire attempted to take legal measures against the television series for using its name and wanted to make it a requirement for each episode to include a disclaimer regarding its alleged inaccurate depiction of the department. However, Cal Fire's attempts were fruitless. Fire Country is still able to use the Cal Fire name and does not have to add a disclaimer during each hour.
Related: The Los Angeles Times