Six firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority’s Santiago crew remained hospitalized Friday morning after their vehicle crashed on State Route 241 while returning from battling the Airport fire, officials said.
The crash occurred around 6:40 p.m. Thursday on northbound State Route 241 when their vehicle swerved to avoid a ladder and rolled several times, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crew of eight firefighters were finishing their 12-hour shift on the Airport fire when the incident occurred.
The Airport fire first ignited Sept. 9 off Trabuco Creek Road near the RC flying field and had grown to 23,519 acres as of Friday morning. It is now 51% contained.
Of the eight passengers, seven were transported by ground ambulance and one by helicopter, according to Orange County Fire Authority Fire Chief Brian Hennessy, who spoke at a Friday news conference. Six were taken to local trauma centers — two to Orange County Global Medical Center, three to Mission Hospital and one to UC Irvine.
“This is devastating for me personally, devastating for everyone in the fire service here in Orange County,” Hennessy added.
Two other firefighters were hospitalized at Hoag Hospital in Irvine in stable condition and were released Thursday night, Hennessy said. The six other firefighters at the trauma centers are in varying states, ranging from stable to critical condition. The firefighter at UC Irvine was expected to be released soon.
“Four of the eight are more seriously injured than the others,” Hennessy said.
Humberto Sari, a doctor with Orange County Global Medical Center, said during the news conference that both firefighters at his hospital were in the intensive care unit Friday morning. One is in critical but stable condition and the other remains in critical condition.