Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fabela's Smokejumper Claim Is All Wet, Firefighters Say
gvw_nancy_price
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 2 years ago on
February 28, 2022

Share

 

A profile story of Fresno Unified School Board candidate Andrew Fabela published last week by GV Wire included his claim to having been a smokejumper during his firefighting career.

But an active smokejumper and two smokejumper retirees told GV Wire on Friday that they can’t find Fabela’s name among the 6,000 names in a smokejumper database, and they don’t believe his story.

Smokejumpers are considered an elite corps among wildland firefighters because they parachute into remote blazing areas.

On the ballot for Fresno Unified’s Fresno High Area 5 Trustee seat, Fabela is listed as a “retired firefighter.” He is one of four candidates vying in the April 12 special election.

Jason Ramos, a smokejumper living in central Washington state, Chuck Sheley, a retired smokejumper and editor of Smokejumper Magazine in Chico, and retiree Mike McMillan said that after learning of the GV Wire story they searched for but did not find Fabela’s name in the database.

Fabela Sticks to His Story

When GV Wire contacted Fabela on Friday to ask about whether he had mistakenly claimed to be a smokejumper, Fabela insisted that he had been a smokejumper. He then accused GV Wire of focusing on issues not related to Fresno Unified and said angrily that he would not participate in GV Wire’s candidate forum on Thursday before hanging up abruptly.

He later texted that he would not participate in the forum because GV Wire was trying to “disparage” him.

“I will not be participating in your online interview seeing as you are trying to disparage me. If you plan on focusing on the problems of FUSD then let me know. However, know this. I will be commenting only on questions I feel are relevant to this special election and FUSD.

“You want me to show you all the scars on my body from my firefighting days we can meet AFTER the election. You have a good evening. Please don’t use this number again. Thanks.”

Ramos and Sheley said they are aware of other instances when someone falsely claimed to be a smokejumper.

“I run across these two or three times a year,” Sheley said.

Database Names Smokejumpers

Over the past 35 years, Sheley said, he has compiled a database with the names of the 6,000 men and women who have completed smokejumping training and the bases where they trained.

He said he believes the database is “99.9%” accurate.

Smokejumper community members routinely identify themselves by the base where they trained and rookie or class year, Ramos and Sheley said.

When GV Wire texted Fabela, asking for his class year and base information, he did not respond.

Ramos, who authored the book “Smokejumper: A Memoir by One of America’s Most Select Airborne Firefighters,” said that if someone claims to be a smokejumper but doesn’t provide a class year and base, “That’s how we know when sometimes things are a little bit fishy.”

Fabela’s response when questioned — becoming angry and hanging up the phone — also are suspicious responses, Ramos said. “If he was a smokejumper, he would not have got upset,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s a mistake, but it sounds like from his reaction, it’s not, you know?”

A false claim of being a smokejumper would raise credibility issues, at the very least, Sheley said.

And there’s also the issue of “stolen valor,” which usually applies to military impostors, Ramos said.

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

Corrupt Process? Bullard, Edison Parents Blast Handling of Superintendent Search

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

No data was found
Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

2 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

3 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

3 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

3 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

3 hours ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

4 hours ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

4 hours ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

Animals /

8 hours ago

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

16 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

20 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

OAKLAND — A former correctional officer at a federal California women’s prison known for numerous misconduct allegations was sentenced...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

2 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

2 hours ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

2 hours ago

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

3 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

3 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

3 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

Photo of Taylor Swift
3 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend