Four firefighters burned in Calif. wildfire
Four firefighters sustained burn injuries fighting a wildfire in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, California fire officials said late Sunday.
The firefighters were airlifted from the fire and transported to UC Davis Burn Center in Sacramento, said CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant in a statement.
He said the two CAL FIRE personnel and one U.S. Forest Service firefighter were likely to be treated and released Sunday evening, but one of the remaining U.S. Forest Service firefighters was being admitted with serious burn injuries.
The Lowell Fire in Nevada County, Calif. has now burned 1,500 acres and is 15% contained. Authorities forced evacuation of four areas in the hilly, forested communities west of Lake Tahoe. Some 1,800 structures are at risk.
CAL FIRE is investigating the cause, and is no longer looking for a vehicle of interest, Berlant said.
Western states, many experiencing extreme drought, are pockmarked by wildfires. Some have closed national icons. In San Diego County, a small wildfire forced the temporary closure of the Palomar Observatory, which houses the Hale Telescope. In Montana, a fire closed 18 miles of Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road.