Chopper down on Iron Complex fire, four hurt

From Redding.com

Updated: 4 injured in Trinity County helicopter crash
Mike Chapman
Originally published 08:43 p.m., August 5, 2008
Updated 11:16 p.m., August 5, 2008

JUNCTION CITY — A helicopter assigned to a Trinity County forest fire crashed and burned Tuesday night, leaving four fire personnel in critical condition.

The victims with burn injuries were flown by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, according to medical dispatchers.

“We don’t know the extent of those injuries at this time,� Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokesman Mike Odle said Tuesday night.

There was no word on the total number of people on board the aircraft or what they were doing.

The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, which was assigned to the Iron Complex fires, went down at the north end of the 15,848-acre Buckhorn Fire, Odle said. The crash site is about 15 miles northwest of Junction City in Trinity County.

There were no known fatalities, Odle said.

U.S. Forest Service officials learned of the crash at 7:45 p.m., he said.

Forest Service officials at the Junction City fire command post refused to answer a reporter’s questions about the crash or say where the staging area was located other than to read a prepared statement.

A Forest Service accident investigation team is expected at the crash site Wednesday, Odle said.

The FS is now reporting that 9 are missing. My thoughts and prayers are with all involved.

http://cbs13.com/local/fire.helicopt....2.788...

Fire Helicopter Crashes In Northern Calif., 4 Hurt
JUNCTION CITY (CBS13/AP)― U.S. Forest Service is now reporting that nine firefighting personnel are unaccounted for, but have not said if their disappearance is related to the helicopter crash that happened last night in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It is confirmed that the crash has left at least four firefighting personnel seriously hurt, according to officials.

You are heros.........

These people were giving their time to help others and died doing it. this makes me cry, this makes me hurt.

This is a horrible and tragic event. Where do we draw the line committing tens of millions of dollars and peoples' lives to protect dope farms and washed-up hermits that choose to live in shacks in the middle of nowhere? Enough is enough.

Make that washed up hermits' houses...

1st- Condolances to those who lost brave people fighting for all of us- may you find peace.

2nd - Lewiston- you are sick and EVIL!

For someones first comment to be that
-as if others dont live there too-

You are a sick mf & I hope they delete your sick comment. Yeah- Enough IS Enough! of sick jerks like you!

Well, Lewiston 121 is really out of line, however, to be fair, there is a grain of truth there. This is a Federal Fire, meaning the US Forest Service is the lead agency and they have brought in a lot of independent contractors, who may or MAY NOT have had sufficient training in firefighting in this type of terrain. The use of rotor air transport is an out-growth of the fact that the lack of management of our National Forest is reflected in the lack of access, they have let all of the old roads go. The only way to get to the fire to cut line is by air, and rotor aircraft in the conditions created by wildfire is dangerous at best.
A Federal Fire is paid for by federal dollars, and there is an enormous amount of "alternative farming' in this area. The lack of appropriate management of the forests has directly contributed to the lack of people clearing defensible space around their homes and appropirating national parkland for dope growing.
In the meantime, there are still 9 individuals missing and one of the crew members flown to Davis has expired.
The only thought any of us should have is grief for the waste of human life.

JimK, you obviously have no conception of reality. I worked alongside fire management and have first hand seen the grow houses that make up the majority of structure protection; this is the reality. Apparently, you are saying that protecting grow operations is worth risking peoples' lives over? You are the one way out of line, my friend. Get your facts straight before you become hostile. You have no idea what it is really like out there.

I don't believe that Lewiston121 is out of line. It is tragic that people lost their lives and we should take time to grieve for them. However, he is correct in saying that we need to draw the line somewhere for how much money is being spent and how many lives have been lost. There has been 3 helicopter crashes in the past 3 years. Each crash involved the loss of lives. The fires these men were serving at were "let it burn fires" where much of what was being protected were shacks and grow houses. So while it is tragic that lives have been lost, the reality is that they did not need to be at this fire risking their lives.