Multiple Firefighters Injured On Fires In California And Utah.
3 firefighters struck by a tree and a fall resulting in helicopter short hauls.
Three firefighters working on the Butler Fire, which is part of the Orleans Complex in the Six Rivers National Forest, California, were struck by a tree yesterday while engaged in fire suppression. The Forest Service put out a preliminary press release on the injuries.
NEWS RELEASE: Three Firefighters Injured in Tree Strike Incident
July 18, 2025: Orleans Complex, Orleans, CA
ORLEANS, California - Three firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service working on the Butler Fire, part of the Orleans Complex, were injured in a tree strike incident at approximately 2:15 p.m. today.
Firefighters were transported to Redding for further medical care.
This incident is under investigation.
Initial reports indicated that these were called in as 2 RED and 1 YELLOW medicals, but may have been downgraded after. The Orleans Complex is now 12,400 acres with 2% containment. Fire activity increased after the fire slopped over the Salmon River. There are 1,400 personnel on the incident.
In Utah, a firefighter was flown off the Forsyth Fire after experiencing a fall. Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue Department assisted with getting the firefighter off the mountain and to the George Regional Hospital in St. George.
The Forsyth Fire started one month ago from a lightning strike North of St. George and burned into the wilderness of the Dixie National Forest. It is 84% contained and 15,662 acres.
While injuries usually see an uptick this time of year, it’s a good reminder to take time with your resources to have those safety chats about the hazards on your fire. I will bring updates on these incidents when the reports when the FLAs come out.
I hope for a speedy recovery for all those involved, and thoughts and prayers for the families and crews.
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Thank you for the post and update. We established Watch Out No.19 - Death From Above in 1985. Among other things, it includes overhead, gravity, e.g. rocks, hazard trees, etc., powerlines, aircraft, aerial ignition, aircraft, etc. This incident verifies that hazard trees and such are responsible for FFs and WFs being injured, maimed, or killed EVERY YEAR FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS BY HAZARD TREES. Call them ALL HAZARD TREES!
Moreover, based on the Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP 2004 RX fire fatality from a falling limb. Grant West Case Study involving Arrowhead HS, Daniel Holmes. (https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/grant-west-case-study.htm).
Paraphrasing here; In 2004, on the Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP Grant West RX Burn, an Arrowhead HS (Dan Holmes, RiP) was killed by a falling limb. I recall one of the SAIT formulas as something to the effect of - an object falling 40 feet will hit the ground in seven seconds, travelling 40 miles per hour.
Moreover, I was a SOF2 on the 2016 Strawberry Fire in Great Basin National Park in Nevada when a Lolo HS Justin Bebe (RiP) was killed by a falling hazard tree hung up in a green tree, that he was "stepping down." He basically walked right into the fall zone, crushing his spine, resulting in an internal decapitation. The two EMTs and a Paramedic basically kept him alive with drugs and such until they recovered his body. As usual, the SAIT-SAIR conclusion was established first, then the alleged facts to support it. (https://lessons.wildfire.gov/incident/strawberry-fire-tree-strike-fatality-2016)
During the morning & night shift briefing safety concerns should be No. 1 priority