Three firefighters were injured Tuesday morning when the Dolan Fire in Big Sur burned a remote fire station. The fire has consumed more than 125 square miles, after growing significantly since Monday.
The injured firefighters were evacuated by air. One is critical. The other two are in fair condition. They along with 11 others were fighting the Dolan fire near the Nacimiento Fire Station in the Los Padres National Forest when the station was consumed by flames. The firefighters used portable fire shelters for protection—pieces of tent-like equipment that firefighters carry with them.
Incident Commander Rob Allen with the U.S. Forest Service says the three injured firefighters are being treated and the other eleven are being debriefed.
“We got them all out ...they are all being treated...we’ve gotten everybody out of harm's way,” Allen said.
Cal Fire reports there are around 14,000 firefighters battling 25 wildfires across the state that have collectively burned more than 1.8 million acres of land.
Allen says the number of fires throughout California and the West Coast is one of the biggest challenges he faces.
“We’ve got lots of fires yesterday, got some wind, got really big, lots of evacuations,” Allen said. “Lots of competition for resources is what that means to us.”
He said the competition is for hand-crews, bulldozers and fire engines. He is expecting to get some help from the Rocky Mountain area.
The Dolan Fire was allegedly intentionally set August 19. A suspect is in custody.