A firefighter has died while battling the El Dorado fire, a blaze that has rolled through 21,000-plus acres and was apparently started by a smoke bomb ignited during a gender-reveal photo shoot in Yucaipa, officials said.
Update: US Forest Service escorts fallen firefighter in El Dorado fire
The firefighter’s name was not immediately released, nor were details on how the firefighter died, but authorities did say on Friday, Sept. 18, that it happened on Thursday.
Map: Where the El Dorado fire is burning in the San Bernardino Mountains
“Our deepest sympathies are with the family, friends and fellow firefighters during this time,” the San Bernardino National Forest posted on Twitter.
Authorities did not announce the agency or position of the firefighter.
U.S. Forest Service officials along with other law enforcement agencies escorted the fallen firefighter down Highway 38 midday on Friday to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office in San Bernardino. The procession was led by a law enforcement vehicle and a San Bernardino National Forest SUV.
The El Dorado fire has been burning in the San Bernardino National Forest since Sept. 5, when, authorities say, the pyrotechnic was set off during a gender-reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. No one has been arrested or charged.
District Attorney Jason Anderson, in an Instagram video from the fire camp in Yucaipa, said his office will review reports from various agencies to determine what charges, if any, will be brought.
“We will do so obviously in a cautious and a calm manner,” Anderson said.
As of Friday morning, the fire had charred 21,678 acres and was 66% contained. Containment is the percentage of the perimeter where the blaze has been stopped and is not expected to jump the line.
The fire jumped Highway 38 Thursday night, but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from reaching homes, Forest Service spokeswoman Kate Kramer said. But she warned that embers, which had been leaping a half-mile ahead of the fire, could travel 1 mile Friday.
Evacuation orders for Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls were lifted at noon Friday, but the communities remain under an evacuation warning. Residents with identification are being allowed in, officials said.
The Yucaipa Police Department reminded Forest Falls residents returning home that the area remains without power and cell service is sketchy.
Orders remained in effect for Angelus Oaks and Seven Oaks.
On Thursday night, air crews began searching for a missing “hotshot” near Pinezanita, which is east of Angelus Oaks along Highway 38, according to a SoCal Air Operations’ Twitter feed. Hotshots are specially trained firefighters who battle blazes in remote regions by hiking in or being lowered from a helicopter. They build fire breaks with tools they carry.
There are more than 100 interagency hotshot crews in the U.S., mostly in the west, mostly spread among the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Park Service.
Incredible sight as night falls!!The #ElDoradoFire burns into heavy timber near Jenks Lake Road W off of Highway 38 north of #AngelusOaks Thursday Sept. 17, 2020. Firefighters are hoping to stop progress of the fire at Highway 38. https://t.co/bbNsdBVT2c pic.twitter.com/KKAt28d6E2
— Will Lester (@WillLesterPhoto) September 18, 2020
Brent M. Witham of Mentone, a member of the Idyllwild-based Vista Grande Hotshots, died in 2017 during the Lolo Peak fire in Montana when a tree he was cutting fell on him. A stretch of Highway 38 near Mountain Home Village, which remains under evacuations orders, was later named in his honor.
In 2006, five Forest Service firefighters — the Engine 57 crew of Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, Jess McLean, Jason McKay, Daniel Najera and Pablo Cerda — died when they were overrun by super-heated air and flames while protecting the so-called Octagon House in Twin Pines during the Esperanza fire in the San Jacinto Mountains.
San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford on Friday tweeted: “Heartbroken for the firefighter who died on the El Dorado fire overnight. These fires are taking a lot out of us in so many ways. Prayers for his family & fire colleagues.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Democratic nominee for vice president, also tweeted about the tragedy.
“I am deeply saddened that the firefighter who went missing while fighting the El Dorado Fire has died. Each day, our nation’s courageous firefighters and first responders risk their lives to protect our communities. May this brave soul rest in peace,” Harris wrote.
The death came just two days before the International Association of Fire Fighters planned to hold its annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Remembrance on Saturday. The names of 245 firefighters and emergency medical personnel who died in the line of duty will be etched onto the Wall of Honor at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The names will be highlighted during the virtual event, which will be broadcast online at iaff.org/fffm20.
Forest officials said Friday there had been 12 injuries related to the fire, though it was immediately unclear if those were to firefighters or civilians. Four homes have been destroyed and another two damaged. More than 26,000 structures were threatened.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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