At least 14 firefighters battling the Dolan Fire in California were rescued after the fire station they were protecting was overrun by flames.
The firefighters were forced to make an emergency shelter deployment on Tuesday near the Nacimiento Station in the Los Padres National Forest after the fire engulfed the station, according to the Associated Press.
The group reportedly suffered smoke inhalation and burns, with three firefighters so badly injured they had to be airlifted to the hospital. One person is in critical condition as a result of their injuries, and two others are in fair condition, the Weather Channel reported.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that helicopters rescued more than 200 people over the course of Labor Day weekend, which was marked by about two dozen fires burning across the state.
“It’s where training meets the moment, but it always takes the courage, the conviction, and the grit of real people doing real work,” Newsom said of the rescues.
Newsom said the scale of the 2020 fires is historic. California has already set a record for most acres burned this year, even though the worst part of the state’s fire season is just beginning. Some 2.3 million acres have burned across the state since the start of 2020.
“Extreme weather conditions have made this situation significantly worse this year,” said Randy Moore, regional forester with the U.S. Forest Service. “Record high temperatures, unprecedented dry lightning events, and multiple heat waves across the state have made conditions extremely dry and susceptible to fire ignition.”
