A Rough and Ready (CA) fire lieutenant reportedly fell 300 feet down an embankment after being struck by machinery while battling the August Complex fires, according to a report.
Lieutenant Dave Hicks stopped a heavy piece of equipment from falling on another firefighter, according to ABC 10, taking a tumble that left him with several fractures and broken bones.
“I knew that if I didn’t step in front of it or do something that it would have caused more injuries,” Lieutenant Hicks told reporters.
The 2020 wildfire season in California and other Western states has already reached historical proportions, with more than four million acres burned in that state alone—more than double the previous record for the most land burned in a single year. As of this writing, the August Complex fire alone in Northern California has surpassed one million acres. Overall, more than a dozen major wildfires burned across the state this season, killing several firefighters and civilians and destroying thousands of structures.
