Crash Update

AVAILABILITY

FL 04 - UNAVAILABLE

FL 05 - ASSIGNED - Lime Complex, Hayfork

FL 06 - ASSIGNED

FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

**ALL FRONTLINE RESOURCES ARE ASSIGNED**

Thank You For Your Support

Helicopter Crash Update
Four survived. Nine perished.
Two of the injured fire fighters are being released from the hospital.
The remains of the nine deceased are still being collected from the crash site.
The cause of the crash has not been identified.
The ship took off low, then struck a tree, landing on it's side.
The fire soon followed.
It has not been determined how the nine died.

I suppose it doesn't matter how they died. The fact still remains...they perished while performing their chosen line of work. Fighting fire is dangerous...period. No matter what we do, we are still faced with the risk of not returning home to our loved ones. When I think of all the times it could have been me....my stomach ties up in knots. I get choked up thinking of the tremendous loss the families are faced with. Old or young, they all left behind families. Some say..."18 years old!...how sad". 18, 19, 20....38....it does not matter the age. They are gone.

We will remember how they died. We will remember how they lived. We will remember. An event like this leaves a scar in the fire fighting community. Every time I step into a helicopter, I think of all the scars. I pray I won't fall to a new scar. I pray for all who have already fallen. I pray.

God speed to all the heroes who have given their lives this season.