San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman retired June 2 after serving as the department's chief since 2002. Reportedly disgruntled over a lack of resources for the department, he had announced in April his intention to resign.

Bowman had been a critic of the city in recent years for its failure to boost funding for the fire department following the October 2003 Cedar Fire, the second-largest wildland fire in California’s history. The Cedar blaze burned 422 square miles, killed 15 people and destroyed more than 2,400 homes.

Bowman, 54, spent most of his career in the Anaheim (Calif.) Fire Department, and was chief of that department for 16 years prior to taking the San Diego position. He has been a member of the fire service for nearly 33 years.