Thursday, August 9, 2018

A Cal Fire-Butte County heavy equipment mechanic assigned to the Carr Fire died in a fiery crash on Highway 99 in Tehama County after he was speeding, failed to negotiate the left turn and hit a tree




Cal Fire-Butte County employee assigned to Carr Fire dies in traffic accident


By Staff Reports
August 9, 2018

LOS MOLINOS, CA — A Cal Fire-Butte County employee assigned to the Carr Fire died on Thursday morning in a traffic accident on Highway 99 in Tehama County.

The employee was a heavy equipment mechanic. According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver was approaching a gradual left-hand curve when he or she drifted off to the right, ran off the road and hit a tree. At that point, the car became engulfed in flames.

It was a single-vehicle accident, CHP officer Ken Reineman confirmed. Reineman said the driver was headed northbound on Highway 99 and that the crash occurred “at or near” Tehama Vina Road near Los Molinos.

Cal Fire will not release any more information about the incident until next of kin are notified.

This story will be updated as more details become available.

According to the Redding Record Searchlight, it’s the eighth fatality associated with the Carr Fire. Five civilians died, along with a 37-year-old Redding firefighter and an 81-year-old bulldozer operator. The Carr Fire started July 23 near the Carr Powerhouse on Whiskeytown Lake. As of Thursday morning, it had burned 177,450 acres and was 48 percent contained. Cal Fire says 1,077 residential structures and 22 commercial structures have been destroyed and 191 residences damaged