Fire mechanic dies in crash, bringing the death toll to 8

A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection mechanic who was assigned to the Carr fire died in a vehicle crash in Tehama County early Thursday morning, the eighth death connected to the furious blaze that has scorched approximately 177,000 acres in Northern California, officials said.

The victim, described as a heavy equipment mechanic, died in a crash on California 99, Cal Fire said in a statement.

The crash happened at 12:17 a.m. after a Dodge Ram 5500 veered off the highway’s right shoulder and slammed into a tree, according to Officer Ken Reineman of the California Highway Patrol’s Red Bluff station. The vehicle caught fire, and the victim has not been publicly identified, Reineman said.

The Thursday morning wreck led to the eighth death connected to the Carr fire, which has proved to be the most lethal of the year. Four Redding residents, a Redding firefighter, a bulldozer operator and a Pacific Gas & Electric utility worker also have died in connection with the blaze, which has destroyed more than 1,000 homes, officials have said.

As the Carr fire has moved deeper into the forest and away from structures in Redding, firefighter commanders routinely have warned of the dangers of driving on roadways clogged by emergency workers and equipment in the area.

For days, the streets in western Redding and the rural communities along the Sacramento River have been a gauntlet for law enforcement and firefighters who have had to negotiate the sometimes-narrow winding roads that are half-blocked by massive PG&E trucks. Firefighters roam road shoulders patrolling for hot spots, while day by day, more Shasta County residents return to the area.

“The biggest hazard for this operational period is going to be driving,” Carr fire public safety officer Baraka Carter told firefighters at a morning briefing this week.

The mechanic’s death came as firefighters across the state continue to battle more than a dozen wildfires that have scorched more than 600,000 acres, bolstered by an extremely warm July and years of drought that have left underbrush ripe to burn.

In Southern California, the Holy fire had grown to 9,614 acres by Thursday morning, continuing to burn areas of Orange and Riverside counties as it crept toward canyon homes, officials said.

Firefighters have achieved only 5 percent containment, Cleveland National Forest officials said, although fire crews are hoping for favorable weather this weekend.