WEED, Calif. (AP) — Two people have died in a blaze that ripped through a Northern California town, said Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue. LaRue shared the news of the fatalities Sunday afternoon during a community meeting held at an elementary school north of...
CA Crews Face Heat Wave Along with Wildfires
CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters battling a Southern California wildfire were pulled back at times to find rest and shade on Thursday, a day after seven were sent to the hospital in the midst of a grueling heat wave. Progress on the Route Fire in northwestern Los...
CAL FIRE Firefighter Contract Calls For More Money, Fewer Hours
California state firefighters have reached agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom on a contract that will give them three raises within the next year and reduce their hours. The contract calls for one raise retroactive to July, another at the start of 2023 and a third in...
CAL FIRE Helicopter Crash Injures Three Returning from Fairview Fire
A helicopter assisting with operations in the Fairview fire near Hemet crashed while attempting to land at the Banning Airport, fire officials said Saturday afternoon. The helicopter was privately owned, officials said, and crashed into a backyard just before 4 p.m....
Western Fires Outpace CA Effort to Fill Inmate Crews
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As wildfires rage across California each year, exhausted firefighters call for reinforcements from wherever they can get them — even as far as Australia. Yet one homegrown resource is rarely used: thousands of experienced firefighters who...
Apparent Human Bones Found During Los Angeles (CA) Brush Fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fire crews battling a brush fire in Los Angeles discovered bones that appeared to be human remains. The fire scorched just under 2 acres (0.8 hectare) Tuesday in the northwest corner of the San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles Fire Department said...
CA Office of Emergency Services to Staff Strike Teams with National Guard Soldiers
California is launching a program where strike teams will be staffed with National Guard soldiers. The program will rollout this summer, and is starting with five new brush trucks just delivered to the state. Four man teams of National Guard soldiers are now being...
Wildland Firefighter Killed by Falling Tree in OR Big Swamp Fire
OAKRIDGE, Ore. (AP) — A firefighter who was hit by a falling tree while battling a wildfire near Oakridge, Oregon has died of his injuries, authorities said Thursday. Collin Hagan, who was with the Craig Interagency Hot Shots from Colorado, died Wednesday of injuries...
National Park Service Fire Lookout, 74, Killed When McKinney (CA) Fire Overruns Her
Kathy Shoopman, 74, the Buckhorn fire lookout at the Klamath National Forest died Friday in the McKinney fire. Shoopman began her service as a fire lookout in 1974 and served faithfully to the end. Even as sheriff’s deputies and her supervisor urged her to evacuate,...
‘Gone in 30 Seconds’ – Shingle Springs (CA) Loses Two Rigs in Wildfire at Six Rivers National Forest
The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Tribal Fire Department lost two rigs when fire burning at Six Rivers National Forest overran the vehicles Monday. The crew from El Dorado County had parked the rigs what they thought was a safe distance from the fire, but a...
Deadly CA Wildfire Wipes Out Scenic River Town
By HAVEN DALEY and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press KLAMATH RIVER, Calif. (AP) — Roger Derry, 80, and his son have lived together in the tiny scenic hamlet of Klamath River in Northern California for more than 40 years. They know most of the town's 200 or so...
Western Flames Spread, CA Sees Its Largest 2022 Fire
By NOAH BERGER Associated Press YREKA, Calif. (AP) — Crews battling the largest wildfire so far this year in California braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions that created the potential for additional fire growth Sunday as they sought to protect remote...