Firefighter killed in August Complex wildfire at Mendocino National Forest
A firefighter died Monday while fighting the August Complex, a large group of wildfires burning at Mendocino National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
One other firefighter was injured and is receiving medical attention, the Forest Service said in a news release late Monday.
The Forest Service in an updated statement Tuesday afternoon said the incident was a vehicle accident involving three firefighters working the Tatham Fire, a 15,000-acre fire within the larger 243,000-acre August Complex. One firefighter involved suffered fatal injuries, another suffered “burns to their hand and arm” and the third was uninjured, officials said.
The Forest Service said the California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. According to the CHP’s activity log, a fatal rollover crash involving a single fire engine was reported shortly after 4:15 p.m. Monday on Highway 162 west of Willows.
“This was a tragic incident and our hearts go out to the family, friends, and colleagues of the fallen firefighter,” Acting Forest Supervisor Sandra Moore said in a prepared statement.
The victim’s identity has not been released by authorities, but the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the victim was a firefighter with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, southwest of Fort Worth, who traveled to California to assist in its battle with wildfires. The department wrote in a social media post Monday evening that it learned one of its firefighters had died while “helping with wildfires in the western US,” including a photo appearing to show charred, smoke-topped hills at Mendocino National Forest.
The death represents at least the eighth fatality linked to California’s huge wave of wildfires that sparked in mid-August as a set of heavy thunderstorms brought down thousands of lightning strikes.
At least five have died in the 375,000-acre LNU Lightning Complex in the North Bay area, according to Cal Fire, including a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. employee working to identify sources of power outages in the fire zone.
A pilot was also killed in a helicopter crash while helping battle the Hills Fire in Fresno County, and one civilian has died in the CZU Lightning Complex burning in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, Cal Fire says.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Firefighter killed in August Complex wildfire at Mendocino National Forest."
